Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, doesn’t like Facebook

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Steve Wozniak, one of Apple’s co-founders, is truly one of us. How so? For starters, he doesn’t like Facebook and is abandoning the platform.

Wozniak was recently a guest on “Steve-O’s Wild Ride!” podcast and revealed that he’s no longer a Facebook user due to the fact how the company handles data and privacy. “Of all Big Tech, Facebook is probably No. 1 that I don’t like,” Wozniak tells Steve-O.

The reasoning behind this statement points back to a 2018 blog post written by a former product manager for Facebook. The post outlines how the company and its partners collect data on users, even for those without accounts.

“I read how it can still grab data and [send it] to Facebook, even when you’re not using the [platform],” Wozniak said. “I don’t believe this is right, because you should [be] honest, [so that] that every person who uses it knows what they’re doing.”

READ MORE: Apple and Meta handed over data to hackers pretending to be police

But to be fair, data collection isn’t why he left the platform. Instead, he attributes it to its addicting nature. “I started looking at Facebook because I kind of like little videos of dogs … and the dogs being saved by people,” he said. “It became so habit forming … and I don’t like habits, because that’s addiction.”

So what does Wozniak use in place of Facebook these days? Wozniak claims he tries to avoid social media whenever possible but says he still uses TikTok to watch dog videos. However, TikTok’s data collection practices have recently come under the gun, as well.

Coincidently, Wozniak says Apple services, specifically iCloud, are his primary platform for keeping up with friends and family.

“We share photos in our families on iCloud,” Wozniak said. “It costs $2 a month, right? You share photos with albums, and other friends of the families can be in on it, and it’s protected. It’s private. Nobody can take the data and find out everything you’re doing.”

Wozniak speculates that if Apple can offer that service for $2 a month, Facebook should create a similar way for friends to communicate privately.

Both Steve-O and Wozniak discuss a wide range of topics during the podcast. So, if this is something that interests you, make sure to check out the full episode here.

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Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.