Fresh privacy fears have been sparked after it emerged that Apple has embedded personal details into music files bought from its iTunes music store.

Technology websites examining iTunes products discovered that personal data, including the names and e-mail addresses of purchasers, are inserted into the AAC files that Apple uses to distribute music tracks.

The information is also included in tracks sold under Apple’s iTunes Plus system, launched this week, where users pay a premium for music that is free from the controversial digital rights management (DRM) intended to protect against piracy.

The Electronic Freedom Foundation, the online consumer rights group, added that it had identified a large amount of additional unaccounted-for information in iTunes files.

[…]

An Apple spokeswoman was unable to comment.

Articol original: Information hidden in iTunes music files sparks privacy fears, Rhys Blakely, Times Online

Popularity: 9% [?]