Apple Removes Over 250 iOS Apps With Ad SDK That Collects Personal User Data

[tennisproha]

The Chinese government is gonna take over the world one day!
They are smart, dedicated, determined and RUTHLESS!

If sure the smog will get to them before they do.

 

[Misaki]

I think the real question is: How many apps (and how long) have been making use of private APIs using similar techniques? How many apps do we have in our devices that have bypassed App Store validation using similar procedures? And I assure you, as a developer, that this is not a difficult thing to do at all…

Far less than those on Android.

And in some cases the private API's have a legitimate use (eg geekbench and other diagnostic/benchmark software) to verify that the device is in fact an iOS device and not a jailbroken or counterfeit device masquerading as an iOS device.

 

[things]

Isn't our iPhones made in China too? Hmmm

It's nice to see Apple being proactive and looking out for our best interest, Tim Cook is serious about our privacy.

eh? apple wasn't proactive, apple was reactive

apple didn't even detect the issue itself, another company did the job apple that failed to do

the article states an estimate of over a million downloads across over 250 apps that "collect personally identifiable user information, including Apple ID email addresses and device identifiers, through a Chinese third-party advertising SDK called Youmi that is prohibited by App Store guidelines", this has been going on "gradually over the past year or so"

apple claims in it's statement "We've identified a group of apps...", but the article reports that SourceDNA found them and told apple

which is true? hmm, tricky

proactive would be apple preventing this happening in the first place, not falling down on the job by allowing it for "the past year or so"

 

[Max(IT)]

China, once more .... why Im not surprised ?

 

[Max(IT)]

These apps should be banned, but doesn't sound too serious. Google likely collects more data

Indeed. Google should be banned too....

Good to see apps taking personal data being removed.

Presumably FaceBook and Google will be next on the list.

well, at least there is (no) hope ...

 

[Arcus]

China. Anyone surprised?

 

[newellj]

Indeed. Google should be banned too....


well, at least there is (no) hope ...

Actually, the EU and ECJ are doing a good job of trying to do exactly that. Schrems, for example.

 

[Analog Kid]

So, another issue with wide swathes of apps from China. Not to be nationalist over this, but it seems there is a clear disease running through China putting its product on par with former-Soviet countries in terms of general trustability. The fact that this private information is being sent through the Great Firewall of China and not being hindered by that at all seems significant (Chinese developers complain that it is too slow to download Xcode across that firewall, but sending all this data from millions of phones and devices around the world to their servers over the same firewall is business as usual?)

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" seems an understatement.

I trust any corporation about as far as I can throw them, but it seems those residing in China give even less of a pause before assuming that anything they can grab is fair game.

When will apps start displaying "Designed and developed in the USA" badges?

China, once more .... why Im not surprised ?

China. Anyone surprised?

Before people get too culturally smug, let's not forget that the Germans just got busted shipping 11 million vehicles with intentionally deceptive software.

Or how Google misrepresented its privacy measures on Safari.

Or how companies like Turn have been caught tracking you against your will.

And remember AT&T's "extreme willingness" to funnel our data to the government?

China's the 2nd largest economy in the world, it's growing gangbusters and regulators aren't being terribly vigilant at tracking all the independent developers. On the whole though, it's not clear to me that these little devs are doing more damage than the major corporations in the West.

 

[iHateMacs]

They found 256 apps? That sound suspicious for start.

 

[modemthug]

Look on the bright side. They have collected so much personal data from so many people that it would have to take years to sort thru. Your chances of having something bad happen are probably little to none.

There are these new things called computers; they can parse incredible amounts of data very quickly.

 

[Jethrox]

Look on the bright side. They have collected so much personal data from so many people that it would have to take years to sort thru. Your chances of having something bad happen are probably little to none.

"Probably" is your key word...however, it becomes valuable when combined with other data, thus they have stolen something of value and it should be considered a crime

 

[NY Guitarist]

Not trying to get political but clearly China is a problem when it comes to hacking and cyberespionage.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chinese-cyberattacks-20151019-story.html

 

[jsmith189]

Before people get too culturally smug, let's not forget that the Germans just got busted shipping 11 million vehicles with intentionally deceptive software.

Or how Google misrepresented its privacy measures on Safari.

Or how companies like Turn have been caught tracking you against your will.

And remember AT&T's "extreme willingness" to funnel our data to the government?

China's the 2nd largest economy in the world, it's growing gangbusters and regulators aren't being terribly vigilant at tracking all the independent developers. On the whole though, it's not clear to me that these little devs are doing more damage than the major corporations in the West.

I don't think anyone (with sense) is saying that China is the ONLY problem and that this type of thing doesn't happen elsewhere, but it'd be foolish to say that the Chinese market isn't becoming problematic. All of the Apple app and App Store issues lately have come out of China, so you can't really just ignore the pattern.

Block Chinese devs from submitting to any store that isn't their own tbh.

 

[dk001]

I never said Google sells them.

No, you implied it.

 

[appledefenceforce]

As a rule, I’ve avoided apps whose developers are Asian. Primarily, because Asian developers tend to generate a lot of copycat apps of poor quality. Their efforts are rarely serious; their apps don’t evolve beyond version 1.x. Now I have another reason to boycott them.

wow racist much? You mean Asia encompasses more than just China right? And not all Chinese apps have issues right? As if Anglo-Saxon Western app markets were so issue-free.

 

[maxsix]

These apps should be banned, but doesn't sound too serious. Google likely collects more data

The Denial...

Giving Apple a Free Pass....

Typical

 

[appledefenceforce]

I don't think anyone (with sense) is saying that China is the ONLY problem and that this type of thing doesn't happen elsewhere, but it'd be foolish to say that the Chinese market isn't becoming problematic. All of the Apple app and App Store issues lately have come out of China, so you can't really just ignore the pattern.

Block Chinese devs from submitting to any store that isn't their own tbh.

Oh yes they are. And now because a small percentage of developers from a country violate the rule we're gonna block out the entire country? Nice policy. If that's the case German cars should be banned worldwide; British oil should be banned worldwide.

 

[appledefenceforce]

The Denial...

Giving Apple a Free Pass....

Typical

The hate.

Hating on Apple for any news articles that have Apple in it, regardless of whose fault it is.

 

[maxsix]

The hate.

Hating on Apple for any news articles that have Apple in it, regardless of whose fault it is.

Denial comes in many forms in an Apple forum....

 

[Norbs12]

Just give china their own isolated app store, this is getting ridiculous.

 

[dk001]

So far in this topic I see

1. Members discussing the issue
2. Members pointing fingers
3. Members with their head in the sand
4. Members sidetracking the discussion

Do 2, 3, and 4 matter?

 

[jsmith189]

Oh yes they are. And now because a small percentage of developers from a country violate the rule we're gonna block out the entire country? Nice policy. If that's the case German cars should be banned worldwide; British oil should be banned worldwide.

I was being facetious... lol.

 

[Analog Kid]

I don't think anyone (with sense) is saying that China is the ONLY problem and that this type of thing doesn't happen elsewhere, but it'd be foolish to say that the Chinese market isn't becoming problematic. All of the Apple app and App Store issues lately have come out of China, so you can't really just ignore the pattern.

No, they haven't. Finding patterns where there aren't any is just as dangerous as ignoring patterns that exist.

Block Chinese devs from submitting to any store that isn't their own tbh.

Just give china their own isolated app store, this is getting ridiculous.

What does that even mean? Have you noticed how the modern economy works?

 

[Norbs12]

What does that even mean? Have you noticed how the modern economy works?

Yep, I've noticed, add china to app store and you get two major issues in a matter of a month.

 

[newellj]

Denial comes in many forms in an Apple forum....

Including denying that Cupertino ever did anything right...