Apple updates privacy policy and Tim Cook denies NSA collaboration

CEO Tim Cook assures Apple users the privacy policy will be updated regularly as the firm looks to the iWatch

Apple has used the iPhone 6 launch to update its privacy policy with an open letter from CEO Tim Cook designed to assure iPhone, iPad and future iWatch users that their personal data will be kept safe and above all private.

The statement comes following the recent iCloud security incident, in which private naked photos of prominent female celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence were stolen and leaked onto the internet.

"Security and privacy are fundamental to the design of all our hardware, software, and services, including iCloud and new services like Apple Pay," Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a statement published on the Apple website after the firm released iOS 8.

Apple insists that it wants to make it as simple as possible for iPhone, iPad and iWatch users to control what personal information they choose to share and allow them to opt out of sharing that data should they wish.

"We believe in telling you up front exactly what's going to happen to your personal information and asking for your permission before you share it with us," Cook continued, "And if you change your mind later, we make it easy to stop sharing with us."

"Every Apple product is designed around those principles. When we do ask to use your data, it's to provide you with a better user experience," he added.

Cook also said that as Apple moves increasingly into the area of harnessing personal data for the likes of fitness applications and wearable technology, the Cupertino firm will regularly update its privacy policies.

"We're publishing this website to explain how we handle your personal information, what we do and don't collect, and why. We're going to make sure you get updates here about privacy at Apple at least once a year and whenever there are significant changes to our policies," he wrote.

Cook used the statement to attempt to reassure Apple users that the organisation hasn't been collaborating with the likes of the National Security Agency's Prism surveillance programme.

"I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will," he said.

"Our commitment to protecting your privacy comes from a deep respect for our customers. We know that your trust doesn't come easy. That's why we have and always will work as hard as we can to earn and keep it," Cook concluded.