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App Developers Claim Apple's iOS 13 Location Tracking Changes Are Anti-Competitive
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I have only one thing to say: Thank you, Apple.
It’s not only about privacy, it’s also about saving battery life.
By the way, the main company that wants to always track you and are willingly killing batteries on iPhones by “always allowing” tracking is Google. Game over!
I can understand why it’s hard on a company like Tile but then if they do a better job at explaining why tracking should be on to maximize the use of the app, then maybe people will turn on the function.
It’s not only about privacy, it’s also about saving battery life.
By the way, the main company that wants to always track you and are willingly killing batteries on iPhones by “always allowing” tracking is Google. Game over!
I can understand why it’s hard on a company like Tile but then if they do a better job at explaining why tracking should be on to maximize the use of the app, then maybe people will turn on the function.
I support Apple on this move, awesome!
If they have Alzheimer’s their phone should be set up by a relative with lots of other restriction. Having a mother with declining memory I’ve put her phone in child mode preventing screwups. So locations setting here would be set by a more experienced user. IMHO
Bravo, Apple! Thank you for being a leader among the few companies that actually CARE about customer privacy.
Zenly and the other companies that signed onto the letter are a bunch of whiners. There's a way for their product (which is the people that install apps like Zenly) to set the tracking setting they need for the apps to function. It's the developer's job to educate their customers (err, product) about how to set the appropriate settings. Zenly and the rest are whining because Apple's change makes it more obvious (to the customer, errr, product) that their privacy is constantly being invaded.
If you want to track me when I'm not using your app then your app will NEVER be installed on my iPhone.
Mark
Zenly and the other companies that signed onto the letter are a bunch of whiners. There's a way for their product (which is the people that install apps like Zenly) to set the tracking setting they need for the apps to function. It's the developer's job to educate their customers (err, product) about how to set the appropriate settings. Zenly and the rest are whining because Apple's change makes it more obvious (to the customer, errr, product) that their privacy is constantly being invaded.
If you want to track me when I'm not using your app then your app will NEVER be installed on my iPhone.
Mark
People that want an app to track can go to privacy/settings and allow what ever they want to track to track. Default should be no tracking on all apps. Those that want to enable tracking can enable it on their own
If Apple isn't auditing its own apps the way it is auditing the other apps, that's a problem. Otherwise, devs need to get over it.
I know people in this industry, they are so focused on our data, how to collect, analyze, and share it that they never consider for a minute how we might feel if we knew the full extent of how much we are being tracked. I have uninstalled many apps like Facebook, I won't be their product unless they want to pay me =)
Thanks for sharing from a developers viewpoint. Not a developer myself and I think it’s interesting to hear that voice in these discussions (...and miss them, as I remember there were more developers discussing here some years back).
And by the way I find it odd that no one has addressed the fact that the article headline points at developers and most negative comments are towards developers as a whole while the article is about leaders that wrote a letter on behalf of companies. Yes, the developers did what their bosses told them to do but isn’t this more about companies potentially loosing revenue more than developers being evil? Give the poor developers some slack y’all
Kudos to you jonblatho for making it very clear for your customers how your product works and the different options for use
I think this is the answer for a lot of the mess and negative feelings here. Not that developers (companies!) are nefarious or that everyone loose all privacy but that most people don’t really know or understand why apps want these permissions and naturally get skeptic about it. Or that most people just don’t care, which is what Apple seems to be worried about. Back to topic: it’s funny how Apple used to be accused of treating their customers like morons by making everything to easy peasy without possibilities of personal choices, and now these companies are putting customers at a new low by saying that they aren’t savvy enough to go into settings and make a change let alone read instructions or guidelines. What!?
If this change pisses location tracking companies off then it makes me happy. Thanks Apple!
If you can turn on “always allow” in the privacy settings, I really don’t see why Apple doesn’t list it as an option on the pop-up. Users can choose something else if they’re not comfortable with being tracked (which I agree with)
People like to make money and the iOS platform enables that....even with Apple taking a large fee, which they deserve. They built it and can charge whatever they want.
Instant access to 1B devices doesn’t and shouldn’t come cheap.
Because it's been found that some users would tap "Always Allow" without really thinking about it and then become outraged when some of the apps for which they granted Always access misbehaved.
Any 3rd party app that needs to track my location when not being used is not welcome on my iPhone.
Apple in iOS 13 made changes to the way location tracking permissions work, and there's no longer an option for apps to ask to "Always Allow" location tracking.
Instead, Apple allows users to select "Allow While Using the App," "Allow Once," or "Don't Allow," which some app creators have taken offense to. The leaders of seven companies that make apps for iOS devices banded together to write an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook to speak out about the changes, with the details shared by The Information.
The companies that wrote to Cook are upset that there's no longer a readily available "Always Allow" option. Users can still turn on "Always Allow" in the Privacy section of the Settings app, but it's not available by default and requires additional steps.
There's no longer an "Always Allow" option on privacy popups in iOS 13 for enabling permanent location access
As an example, Zenly, a location tracking app owned by Snap, needs to have location tracking on permanently to function. Since there's no option to turn on "Always Allow," Zenly has to have a clunky secondary display screen that instructs users to open up the Privacy settings on their iPhones to change the location setting. This makes consumers more aware of apps that are tracking them continually, but it is an extra step that app developers must contend with.
According to the companies who wrote to Cook, the changes could potentially lead users to think their apps are broken unless they're "savvy enough" tweak Privacy settings. These are the companies whose leaders wrote to Cook about the privacy changes:
Apps that want continual location data must instruct customers to enable it in the Settings app
[*]Tile - Makes tracking devices for wallets, keys, and other objects.
[*]Arity - A company owned by Allstate that developers technology for measuring driver risk.
[*]Life360 - An app for sharing location with family and friends.
[*]Zenly - A location sharing app owned by Snap.
[*]Zendrive - A company that makes driver assessment apps.
[*]Twenty - A social networking app for finding friends nearby.
[*]Happn - A dating app.
The app creators suggested Apple create a two-step process that would let users grant apps access to locations as a solution, but it's not clear if Apple has plans to implement changes.
The companies were also concerned about changes Apple is making to a VoIP feature designed to let apps run in the background to listen for calls, but that was being abused for other tracking purposes. Apple doesn't plan to let developers use Apple's PushKit API for anything beyond voice calls in iOS 13.
While the companies admit that apps used this feature for tracking user location and for gathering data, they claim the change will hurt important app features. As an example, Life360 reportedly uses the feature to access a user's location to dispatch emergency services when a customer is involved in a car accident.
The email ends by pointing out that Apple's own apps do not need to get user permission to access user location, such as for Find My, which is built into the iPhone as a way to keep track of iOS and macOS devices.
In response to questions about the email, an Apple spokesperson told The Information that Apple's goal is to make the App Store a safe, trusted source for apps and to give its users the best products and ecosystem in the world. In addition, Apple said that it is working with some of the companies that signed the email to find alternative methods for features that are being obsoleted, such as background tracking for purposes other than voice calls.
Apple also says that while system apps like Find My don't need to make location tracking requests from users, some Apple apps distributed through the App Store will abide by Apple's processes for requesting user permission to access location information. The full report with additional details can be read over at The Information.
Article Link: App Developers Claim Apple's iOS 13 Location Tracking Changes Are Anti-Competitive
Happy to provide another viewpoint, especially as a developer of an app which requires Always access in some cases (per user preferences) but also one that we’ve designed to consider privacy in doing so. I understand the concerns of some folks here, but not all of us misbehave when given location data. In our case, we really just want to deliver weather data for one’s location. That’s all we use the data for — all we’ve ever used and will ever use it for — end of story.Thanks for sharing from a developers viewpoint. Not a developer myself and I think it’s interesting to hear that voice in these discussions (...and miss them, as I remember there were more developers discussing here some years back).
And by the way I find it odd that no one has addressed the fact that the article headline points at developers and most negative comments are towards developers as a whole while the article is about leaders that wrote a letter on behalf of companies. Yes, the developers did what their bosses told them to do but isn’t this more about companies potentially loosing revenue more than developers being evil? Give the poor developers some slack y’all
Kudos to you jonblatho for making it very clear for your customers how your product works and the different options for use
I fully support this change, but I am a bit concerned that Apple exempts some of its own apps (except maybe Find My) from this. If it’s good enough for us, it should also be good enough for them, in my opinion.
This reminds me of how some Android smartphones come with Facebook pre-installed but only offer you a disable feature after. Only later to find out disable feature is useless and some how manages to still work, listen, see and spy on you even if disable which is why no uninstall option comes with it. Apple played this right. Thank you Apple
Well, i'll buck the trend here since I'm using MileIQ to track my milage for my job. I'd prefer that it always track me. Cause if I forget to open it, then i'm screwed. As long as I get prompted and asked for when something tracks me all the time, i'm fine with it.
I have always felt that the App Store was in dire need of a “purge”.
It’s currently being flooded with all manner of crap or low quality apps, which just makes it so much harder to locate the good ones. Websites and services that help you curate the better ones (such as macstories, Touch Arcade and the upcoming Apple Arcade service) help some but even they cannot cover every app out there.
At this point, having so many apps feels counterproductive if users are not getting more of what they want, but instead being saddled with more problems that they need to contend with.
It may not be a bad thing to make the rules stricter so that your “bad players” get frustrated and end up leaving the store, leaving only the serious, honest developers behind.
Quality, not quantity.
I NEVER allow always on tracking. what's the purpose?
its a battery killer also.
its a battery killer also.
As a former co-worker loved to say ‘a request masquerading as a requirement’. No app (unless it’s literally life or death) needs to be tracking all the time. You don’t have to be too cynical to see this is all about monetization. The find friends and dating apps? Pathetic.