Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2018/05/31/how-to-download-all-your-apple-data/
Apple now allows Europeans to download most of the data linked to an Apple ID that is stored on their servers. Kirk McElhearn tried it out to see what data was available and how complex the process was.
Well, I just tried this and there was no option presented to get a copy of your data.
Only 2 options were presentedā¦
- Correct your data
- Delete your account
Perhaps because Iām not in Europe?
Now we Americans can know how it feels when we brag about features that arenāt yet available to Europeans!
@āā¦no option presented to get a copy of your data.ā
Iām quite surprised Apple would let you have access to Kirkās account at all. 
Hi
I just accessed my UK account from the USA and it offered me all the options including downloading my data.
f
Is it just me or does Apple make everyone log-in three times to start this āup to seven daysā process?
I got mine a couple of weeks ago - maybe because I live in the California Peoples Republic? ;-)
That said they only went back to 2007, even though Iāve been dealing with Apple since 1984.
I live in California, but only the two options appeared for all of the Apple IDs I tried.
Oh, interesting! Thatās an entirely different system, and not one that Iād seen before.
Iāll have to request my data and see how it compares with what Kirk got too.
Adam,
After submitting my initial request, I received the following in an email from Apple:
Thank you for contacting Appleās privacy team.
At Apple, we take the privacy and security of your personal information very seriously. We design our products and services with this in mind.
We can arrange for a report of your account details as controlled by Apple
However, to ensure security of your personal information, we need to confirm your identity. Could you please send me the following information associated with the account, where available:
- full name
- Apple ID if known
- email address
- street address
- telephone number
- a registered product serial number
- AppleCare support case number, or date and time of AppleCare support chat
Please do not send any sensitive information such as credit card details or passwords.
If you have any questions about Appleās Privacy policy, please visit www.apple.com/privacy
Once I submitted the requested information, I received a link and password after about 5 days to download the results.
You did better than me! I made the mistake of noting I was a journalist and immediately was told to talk to Apple PR.
How did the information you received compare with what Kirk got? Was it roughly similar?
Adam, I received the following:
AOS Orders.csv Apple Online Store orders going back to Mar 2012
CRM AppleCare Case Contact.csv My contact info
CRM AppleCare Case Header.csv AC cases back to Mar 2012
CRM Installed Product.csv Back to Mar 2002
CRM Warranty.csv Back to Mar 2002
DS Signons.csv DotMac/MobileMe/iCloud sign ons going back to Jul 2004
iTunes Downloads.csv Back to Jul 2004 (yes, the U2 album is there)
iTunes Store Gift Card.csv Back to Dec 2009
iTunes Updates.csv iOS app updates going back to Oct 2008
Marketing Contact.csv My contact info
MyAppleId and iForgot.csv Going back to Feb 2014
Repair Transaction Details.csv In-store repairs going back to Jan 2008
Additionally I received these:
Data Definitions.xlsx Exactly what it says - a list of definitions
For first AppleID:
AccountDetails.xlsx Doesnāt have any dates
iCloudLogs.xlsx Covers 24 Mar 2018 to 22 May 2018
FaceTime.xlsx No dates or data
IDS_QueryLogs.xlsx No dates or data
For second AppleID:
AccountDetails.xlsx Has data going back to Sep 2009
iCloudLogs.xlsx Covers same period as in 1st AppleID
MailLogs.xlsx Covers same period as iCloudLogs
FaceTime.xlsx No dates or data
IDS_QueryLogs.xlsx No dates or data
I was sent a link to download an encrypted ZIP file and separately the password to open that file while Kirk seems to have just been sent to a webpage to download each file separately.
Regarding the U2 album, I didnāt get a breakout of the songs like Kirk did; just an entry for the album. The only time I got individual songs data was when I bought them individually.
Dennis
1 Like
Thanks for the detail, Dennis! Sounds like you got basically the same kinds of things as Kirk. So Apple is presumably just building out the self-service option for the rest of us and providing manual downloads for those who ask now but arenāt in the EU or other supported country.
A lot of tech coverage of the GDPR issue Iāve read (apologies Iām not an expert) has referred to its applicability to āEuropeansā or āEU Citizensā etc. That includes this data download from Apple, but as with others above, I tried the site (not the one Mr. Swaney used) and was only given the correct/delete option.
My account is a US based account, but Iām a US citizen living in the EU. It didnāt seem to matter if I connected first to a VPN in an EU country or the US, as soon as I entered my Apple ID I had no option to download.
Itās a little surprising, just as a comment, that in this day and age a fair bit of the tech media has not properly reported this aspectā¦ Again, I have not read the rules myself but I was hoping the news media wouldā¦ regarding whether GDPR applies to āEuropean Citizensā (who can have a US-based Apple account and be physically in the US, EU, or anywhere), anyone accessing internet from an IP physically located in the EU, āEuropean Residentsā (who can be of any nationality) etc. This is an important detail in the discussion of the topic and of availing the benefits.
Hopefully this is progress!
Apple has rolled the ability to download your data out to the US.