I get the sentiment and where it’s coming from, but I just want to emphasize that the privacy arrangements, such as the one I linked, do lay out in somewhat explicit detail what data apple is retaining (eg, not your credit card number), what is sent to the card issuers, what is sent to the merchant, and what remains on your personal phone. I’m not talking about any other parties.

I do not trust companies to act in my best interest. I do trust them, to a first order approximation, to act in their own. Apple has made user data privacy a cornerstone of what they use to appeal to customers, and I feel that I can trust them not to risk a three trillion dollar valuation on trying to mine some credit card data.

I think there’s a middle ground between using cash in person for all transactions and going heels to jesus by posting extensive personal information to facebook and twitter. Everyone needs to find their comfort zone, and should do so with information that’s as accurate as possible.