Apple’s focus on privacy was thanks to how Steve Jobs ran the company, Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said during a  Code Conference panel at Beverly Hills, California on Wednesday.

Cook said that he still runs the company the way the late co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs used to and that the company has tried to maintain privacy in this surveillance-driven world.

“I think he saw that and saw that well, and I have every reason to believe he would have put up good arguments and good fights along the way,” Cook told tech journalist Kara Swisher, referencing Jobs’ philosophy surrounding Apple products.

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The panel which included Apple’s former Chief Design Office John Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs discussed the need for privacy at the conference just hours after the company held a major launch event on Wednesday. At the Far Out event, Apple released its new iPhone along with information about three new Apple Watches and a brand new set of AirPods. At the presentation on Wednesday at its Cupertino headquarters, Apple said that it was committed to protecting user information, such as but not limited to women’s health data.

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Apple’s decision to curb how much apps can advertise to users has drawn widespread outcry from many in the social media space. The company’s move has caused advertising driven revenue to reduce drastically, an event which has been partially responsible for lower forecasts in the next quarter and the fiscal year. 

At the Conference, Cook insisted that “digital advertising is not a bad thing.” Referring to advertising practices, he said that “vacuuming up people’s data” was not a good. He went on to say that Apple tries to put users in the “driver seat” so that they can “own their data.”

“I’ve never met somebody so curious and so inquisitive,” said Ives during the panel. According to him, the late co-founder’s vision for Apple was never to sell more units. Ives quit Apple in 2019 to start his own design firm. 

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Reminiscing about Jobs, founder of the Emerson Collective and the visionary’s widow, Powell Jobs said that on his return to Apple after just over 10 years away, he pushed to simplify the company’s offerings. There was a time when Apple’s offerings in the tech world were just four main products lines. Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple in 1985 only to return in 1997 after his company NeXT was bought out. 

“He often talked about leaving behind a body of work, like an artist does,” said Powell Jobs.

Cook, who joined Apple in 1998 shortly after Jobs’ return was made CEO in 2011, shortly after the death of Apple’s co-founder. He said that the company still continued to have the 9 am meetings on Mondays with all the top executives, a tradition started by Jobs.