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I was hoping they would have something to say about privacy/security, but they didn't so I guess there isn't any. That's too bad because I don't think I can live with all my photos being instantly sent to Apple. Probably some other document types too.

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Encryption was mentioned a few times, and there will no doubt be more technical specifications coming to light as it gets closer to launch. Perhaps you're correct and there isn't sufficient security in place. In that case opt out.

Interesting. What kind of questions were you expecting to be answered? I thought this is not a sharing service in the sense that you do not get a link to it, which means your stuff is not made public even if you want it to. So as long as the transit is encrypted (which it is) it should be fine. Also Apple is not selling you ads based on your photos, so no issues about reading or analyzing your data to get information either.

I'm concerned with Apple's access to my data and was hoping they would offer a way to do encrypted storage with self-managed keys. They have, in the past, played up their privacy edge over Google, so it wasn't out of the question. But it was still wishful thinking because it's incredibly difficult to do while maintaining the "just works" quality that is so crucial to them.

I hope their opt-out is granular enough that I can still use the parts of iCloud that don't make me uncomfortable.

The only opt-out option visible in the keynote was a master switch to turn iCloud services on or off (it being on by default of course). I doubt they'd make it more granular than that as it would complicate things quite a bit while only meeting the needs of a few and isn't really in line with their interests. It's better than no option and is obvious and accessible enough contrary to some other way more sensitive features released from other companies.

Personally, I find that Apple has been very consistent with how they treat customer data at a corporate level and I trust their incentive to protect it and/or hide it from public view by default WAY more than I trust Googles, Amazons, and especially FaceBooks. If I'm honest with myself their vested interests in iAd do raise the hairs on the back of my neck a little bit, but it would be a significant departure (and would create more backlash than anything I can imagine them doing in the near term) from everything I've seen of their treatment of personal data to date.

> I doubt they'd make it more granular than that as it would complicate things quite a bit while only meeting the needs of a few and isn't really in line with their interests.

What you get after the set-up, in Settings, looks a bit like this: http://i.imgur.com/dYXvU.png

I stand corrected. Thanks for the snapshot.

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