Apple is portraying itself as the defender of privacy in the tech world, but it’s one slip away from embarrassment

Apple ramped up its efforts this week to differentiate its business on the basis of privacy and security, a risky move given risks to its cloud-based backup service and a challenging privacy environment globally, particularly in China, where the company says it is struggling.

Apple took a high-profile swipe at Google, Amazon and Facebook at this year’s Computer Electronics Show, with a full-building ad touting “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone.” CEO Tim Cook has criticized competitors for their privacy practices and their willingness to share data with third parties.

Apple is now also reportedly hiring ex-Facebook engineer Sandy Parakilas, who called Facebook a “living, breathing crime scene” because of its misuse by Russian hackers in the 2016 election. (Parakilas is reportedly taking an internal spot as a privacy product manager at Apple, a role not likely to include public-facing statements like these in the future).

For sure, Apple’s core business is different from Facebook’s and Google’s. Apple makes the bulk of its money selling iPhones and other computing devices, and charging consumer subscriptions for things like Apple Music. That means Apple has little reason to compile detailed information about users, and even less incentive to sell that information to third parties. But Facebook and Google make the vast majority of their money from advertising.

But putting such a big stake in privacy as a differentiator may be a risky business move.