New European Union privacy laws are going into effect soon, as you've probably gathered from the flurry of privacy policy updates companies have sent out over the past few weeks.
For the unaware, these regulations, collectively dubbed the "General Data Protection Regulation" (GDPR), will require companies to be better stewards of their users' data - a particularly important notion in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Though the GDPR gives users many new ways of controlling their online data, one of the most important involves the GDPR's "data portability" rules.
Specifically, companies must allow users to obtain a downloadable copy of all of the data a company has stored about them over time. In theory, this would help prevent monopolies from forming, as it would allow a user to easily transfer their data from a platform like Facebook to a competing social media platform more easily.
Some companies have been quicker to adopt these rules than others, but Apple has finally jumped on the GDPR wagon. As 9to5Mac discovered, if you're a European Union-based Apple user, you'll now be able to take advantage of several new data management options.
Not only will you be able to obtain a downloadable copy of your data as previously mentioned but you can also correct false information Apple has stored about you and deactivate your account temporarily.
You can even demand that Apple delete your account entirely, along with all of the data they've collected about you. This right is granted to EU users through Article 17 of the GDPR, which discusses the "right to be forgotten."
These tools will roll out to customers outside of the EU in the "coming months."