Technology

I’ve been an Apple customer for 35 years. Had an Apple account as long as Apple has had such things. A few years ago (specifically, when Apple started retiring 32-bit apps from the App Store) I saw where Apple was going and created a dedicated account for my Apple ID that’s separate from the one I use for my contact for Apple services.

If Apple locked me out of my account today, I’d lose access to 14 years of app purchases on that account. That’s about it? And at some point I started using an alternative ID for some of my purchases, so I’d only lose access to some of them. And of course, I now keep copies of everything backed up, since they could vanish from Apple’s servers at any time.

Stupid people do stupid things. Like putting all apples in one basket.

Sometimes the lesson that needs to be learned in order to appreciate backups is hard...

SelfHosted community of Lemmy right now

If you do store your data, like me, in iCloud and Apple Photos then you should still take a backup.

The easiest way to do this to request a data export of all your Apple data. It’s then prepared into zip files you can download onto a local storage device.

I do it about once a year, which for me is a reasonable balance between risk and impact.

Here’s a guide: https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/get-a-copy-of-your-apple-account-data/

Everyone always learns the hard way, just the same as I did - one copy is usually as good as no copies at all.

For data you can't afford to lose, the 3-2-1 rule is king. Original, cold local, and remote.

I’m not blaming the guy, but he seems smart enough that he should have known better. Data isn’t secure if it’s in a single location, he gave up control and the inevitable happened.

I do not trust anyone with my data, the more important, the more sure I am that I have copies in several locations, including ones that are entirely in my control. My photos exist on multiple devices, cloud, my selfhosted immich server and my offline backup. Same with documents and other important data. My ripped movie collection is not backed up since I have the physical media.

Do not give up control, the systems are all setup to give you the illusion of security, but then this kind of thing happens. Maybe I’m extra paranoid since I’ve been the victim of identity theft but I’m comfortable with my level of paranoia.

Update- for the record, yes, Apple needs to make this right. I DO NOT blame the victim, my comment is here as advice, not to shit on the dude.

Why isn't this posted in Leopards Ate My Face?

... this person... trusted... all their files... on someone else's computer?

... they... trusted a giant... tech corporation... to... care about them?

How is this person a developer?

Normally I'd say "clearly this person has never worked in software developement"... but apparently they have, and are just very naive?

... Maybe he just somehow never once spoke with someone who worked with databases ... ???

I’m a little curious as to why they used a gift card and didn’t just pay with their own card. Seems a hassle to add the extra step.

It just works.

Having all my data stored with proprietary services is so nice, I don't have to worry about anything.

/S

But that's actually how the average idiot think.

It would honestly suck if everything you have is tied to one account.

Definitely a good lesson to has alternatives and back ups.