The Morning After: iPhone usage data may not be as anonymous as Apple claims

Developers at Mysk claim Apple’s anonymous usage data for some of its in-house apps includes a Directory Services Identifier (DSID) uniquely linked to your Apple ID and iCloud data. Mysk notes that Apple’s tool to prevent third-party app tracking debuted in iOS 14.5, so this shouldn’t affect other software you use on your devices. For example, the developers noted your behavior when browsing apps in the iPhone’s App Store is sent to Apple with this ID. As Gizmodo also notes, Apple encrypts the usage data so isn’t necessarily processing personal and general info together.

Apple continues to draw a lot of attention to its privacy policies, as it has used them to differentiate its hardware from rivals. You might remember the “what happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone” ads that appeared in Las Vegas at CES one year. We’re still waiting to hear from Apple.

– Mat Smith

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Including the free-to-play ‘Roller Champions.’

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Without buying a game they may already own.

Picking a gift for someone who loves gaming can be tough. New games appear all the time: Do they already have this game? Have they already played that game? To save you some trouble (and some refunds), these gifts are a bit different but should be appreciated all the same. You may also find something to pique your interest.

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The Artemis 1 spacecraft was just 81 miles above the lunar surface.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft has successfully completed one of the key maneuvers of its maiden journey: a flyby of the Moon during which it got as close as 81 miles to the lunar surface. The flyby burn was one of two necessary maneuvers for Orion to enter its retrograde orbit around the Moon. Next up is the distant retrograde orbit insertion burn, which is slated to take place this Friday. Orion will remain in this orbit to test various systems, including guidance, navigation, communication, power and thermal control.

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