The North Star has always been the same, which for us, is about making insanely great products that really change the world in some way - enrich people's lives.
Tim CookRead
A few years ago, users of Internet services began to realize that when an online service is free, you're not the customer. You're the product.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Free online services often profit by using user data rather than charging users directly.
Tim Cook's quote highlights a critical aspect of the modern digital economy: the notion that when a service is provided for free, the users themselves become the product being sold to advertisers and other third parties. This raises important questions about privacy, the value of personal data, and the ethics of how companies monetize user behavior and information.
Themes
DataPrivacyFree ServicesInternetTechnology
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about online privacy in a tech conference.
More from Tim Cook
All quotes βThere have been people that suggest that we should have a back door. But the reality is if you put a back door in, that back door's for everybody - for good guys and bad guys.
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I don't subscribe to the view some people have in the industry that you should purposefully design products that do not last that long. I don't think it is good for anyone.
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When technological advancement can go up so exponentially, I do think there's a risk of losing sight of the fact that tech should serve humanity, not the other way around.
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Work takes on new meaning when you feel you are pointed in the right direction. Otherwise, it's just a job, and life is too short for that.
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That has always been the objective of Apple: to do things that really enrich people's lives. That you look back on and you wonder, 'How did I live without this?'
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