Apple Drops Out of Top 20 Most Trusted Companies for Privacy

trustApple has dropped out of the Top 20 list in world's largest survey of consumer trust. Apple's 21st ranking in the Ponemon Institute's Most Trusted Companies for Privacy Study is its lowest ranking in three years. The survey asks consumers to name and rate organizations they believe are most committed to protecting the privacy of their personal information.

Apple fell from 8th place in 2009 to 12th in 2010, 14th in 2011 and 21st in 2012. Apple was not the only major company to find itself having been knocked out of a top-20 place, being joined by both Google and Facebook.

The Ponemon Institute is careful to point out that the survey reflects consumer perceptions of privacy, rather than actual privacy practices. Apple Insider notes that Apple has tightened its privacy controls in a number of ways following revelations that the Path app was uploading users' address books without permission. Apple now requires apps to obtain explicit permission from users before contact information can be accessed. Apps also seek permission before using accessing location data.

Both Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market were criticised by the FTC in December for failing to disclose to parents ways in which data might be shared from children's apps.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Brings New AppleCare+ Options to India

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:42 am PST by
Apple today announced an expansion of AppleCare+ coverage in India, with new options for monthly and annual plans, and the addition of Theft and Loss for iPhone for the first time. Options for monthly and annual AppleCare+ plans in India provide more choice and flexibility, allowing users to keep coverage for as long as they require. Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Wednesday November 19, 2025 4:00 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
ipad mini 7 feature red and blue

iPad Mini 8: Four Major New Features to Expect

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:50 am PST by
Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini is highly likely to arrive next year, offering a significant refresh of the device with at least four major new features. OLED Display The next-generation version of the iPad mini could feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple Watch in 2015, ...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16 Wi-Fi Speeds: New Study Reveals the Winner

Tuesday November 18, 2025 10:53 am PST by
A new study has revealed that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air achieve significantly faster average Wi-Fi speeds compared to the iPhone 16 series, thanks to Apple's custom-designed N1 chip. The study was conducted by Ookla, the company behind the popular Speedtest website and app. It said the results are based on global, crowdsourced Speedtest user data...
macbook black friday

The Best Early Black Friday Mac Deals

Tuesday November 18, 2025 7:32 am PST by
We're getting closer to Black Friday, which lands next week on Friday, November 28. In the lead-up to the shopping holiday, we're tracking a few lowest-ever prices on Apple's most popular Macs, including the M4 MacBook Air and brand new M5 MacBook Pro. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Magic Keyboard Touch ID Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for 140W USB-C Power Adapter, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad

Tuesday November 18, 2025 1:05 pm PST by
Apple today released updated firmware for several accessories, including the 140W USB-C Power Adapter, the Magic Trackpad 2, the Magic Trackpad USB-C, the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad. There is no word on what's included in the updated firmware at this time, but it could offer performance improvements and security updates. Accessory...

Top Rated Comments

elkk Avatar
167 months ago
facebook has been knocked out of the top 20 most trusted companies...

facebook was actually viewed as a trusted company..?
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lesser Evets Avatar
167 months ago
Show me a person that trusts a company, I'll show you a world-class moron.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apfeljonas Avatar
167 months ago
Anyone else first thought that institute's name was Pokemon?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rmwebs Avatar
167 months ago
Not really surprising.

People slate Google when it comes to privacy, but in reality all the big boys adopt the same approach, Google are just able to make more cash out of it than anyone else due to their search business.

At the end of the day not a single one of them uses identifiable information, it doesn't get sold to anyone, its all used for advertisements and working out usage trends to tweak services. We for example make use of visitor tracking (like most websites do) to work out where people leave our site, so for things like online shops you can say 'ok where did our site go wrong - why did the user not checkout' and tweak stuff until your conversion rates improve.

The idea that someone like Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc are secretly selling your personal details is just dumb.

----------

So much for doubling down security ;)
They never said anything about your security though ;) :p
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MRU Avatar
167 months ago
Is the Ponemon Institute a widely respected/trusted institute? I've never head d them before.
Everyones heard of Ponemon ;-)

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WiiDSmoker Avatar
167 months ago
Anyone else first thought that institute's name was Pokemon?

Gotta Protect Them All!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)