The best way to educate people about absolutely boring topics is humor, at least that’s what Apple assumes in its new four-part privacy video series with Nick Mohammed by Ted Lasso.
The video, released today as part of a multi-pronged effort to highlight Privacy Day (January 28), the week leading up to it, and all the privacy tools iPhone users may or may not use, highlights four core privacy features of iPhone.
In the video “A Day in the Life of an Average Person’s Data,” Mohammed plays an elevated version of himself, someone overly concerned about his fame and notoriety but also humiliated at every turn. Tools like Email Privacy, Intelligent Tracking Prevention, Apple Tracking Transparency, and Wallet & Apple Pay are mostly easy to understand.
The more serious guidance will come courtesy of a new in-person Today at Apple session.
Beginning January 28, Apple will launch its first “Today at Apple” session dedicated solely to privacy: “Take Charge of Your Privacy on iPhone.” You can sign up for the free sessions being held at Apple resellers around the world starting today (January 24) via Apple.com/privacy Today on the Apple page on Apple.com (opens in new tab).
For both the video and live sessions, there are no new Apple privacy features to tout. All are available in iOS 16 at the moment. Topics that the sessions will cover include:
- Passwords and Passkeys
- App tracking transparency
- security check
- location services
- Mail Privacy
- App Privacy Report
In other words, you’ll learn more about keeping your mobile information private from Today at Apple than from Nick Mohammed.
This four-part video (not counting the intro and ending) will be featured on Apple.com, social media, and in a prominent place youtube (opens in new tab). While you might already be using features like Intelligent Tracking Prevention, you could probably still get a chuckle when you see Mohammed embarrass himself repeatedly. It’s a far cry from where his character Nathan Shelley will go in the time to come Ted Lasso season 3 (who lives on Apple TV Plus, of course) where he now faces off against Lasso as the new manager of an opposing team.
While Apple’s appropriation of Data Privacy Day (launched in Europe in 2007 and adopted by the US in 2009) may seem self-serving, Apple’s privacy tools have had a significant impact on the way many mobile, tech, and social media companies operate .
Several companies, including Facebook (Meta) and Twitter, have noted the adverse impact Apple Tracking Transparency has on their businesses, including possibly costs them billions of dollars (opens in new tab) in advertising revenue.
Because Apple doesn’t sell ads on its consumer devices or share any of the data it stores (and encrypts) for its consumers, Apple can do what Google, for example, can’t. The latter business is based almost entirely on user data and advertising.
It makes sense for Apple to lean into this week and celebrate while other tech companies take a more muted, or even quieter, approach.
The real question, however, is how well you know the privacy tools Apple’s best iPhones or the best smartphones? If you’re not happy with the way your data is managed, it might be time to upgrade.
