Apple straight up trolls Google with an ad at CES 2019

Jan 08, 2019

By Herb Scribner

Apple made a major move against Google this weekend, trolling its competitor at the Consumer Electronics Show 2019 in Las Vegas, Engadget reports.

What’s going on: Apple, which didn’t even attend CES as an exhibitor, purchased a billboard that took shots at Google, which often showcases a lot of Android items at the location, The Washington Post reports.

“What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone,” the billboard says.

The billboard ends with a link to Apple’s privacy policies.

.@Apple plasters privacy ad on billboard near Las Vegas Convention Center ahead of #CES2019 https://t.co/AssYTg686j pic.twitter.com/D9Dei7j9VU

— AppleInsider (@appleinsider) January 5, 2019

Funny move: Apple placed the billboard along the monorail system, which has shuttles with “Hey Google,” posted on the side, a reference to Google Assistant, The Verge notes.

Similarly, Google’s colors for its ad have black text on white backgrounds. The Apple ad is the exact opposite style.

What it means: “This is Apple flipping the bird at its Android rivals, since the ad plays on fears that the Google-operated mobile system leaks people’s data, be that to governments or hackers,” according to Business Insider. “Apple, on the other hand, has sold itself as the phone maker that respects its customers’ privacy.”

Flashback: Google announced it would shut down Google Plus after it discovered a bug within the system exposed user data to third parties, which I reported for the Deseret News. More than 52 million Americans were affected by the hack.

Cold water: The Verge says that Apple isn’t totally free from issues with data. For example, the company didn’t have two-factor authentication before a photo leak of private celeb photos.

“If Apple wants to live up to the full meaning of the words it has emblazoned on the side of a building this week, it ought to ensure its privacy protections are impenetrable and apply with equal strength everywhere across the world. Otherwise, this might all look a bit hypocritical,” The Verge notes.