Apple Shuts Down All of Google's Internal Apps for Abusing Enterprise Certificate [Updated]

[Act3]

Oh my god, the Donald between tweets LMAO
Look at the hair! And the tweeting claws.
Sorry back to bashing google, I just couldn’t resist.
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Not me, I stopped using them some time back. Life seems to go on just fine without Facebook and Google. Who knew?

you never watch youtube or use gmail or use instagram, etc....?

 

[Defthand]

…a platform that is overtly working to protect their privacy.

Not so much. Apple’s reaction to Facebook and Google’s exploits is not about preserving privacy. It is about enforcing a restricted use of enterprise certificates to distribute apps publicly that aren’t vetted by Apple’s approval process.

Cook does a lot of grandstanding on the subject of privacy, while doing nothing to prevent data miners from using the platform.

 

[Doctor Q]

Perhaps users should get a message when they use an enterprise certificate to install an app, e.g.,

Are you an employee of COMPANY X?​

with an explanation of eligibility to install the app.

By having users verify their employment (even just on the honor system), Apple would be using them to help watch for problems. Presumably somebody who got that message would have reported Facebook or Google's tactic, so that type of message would have brought this problem to light much sooner.

 

[Salvor Hardin]

This reminds me how last month I got weekly physical letters in the mail from Goggle begging to install a microphone near my TV and a device that would log all web activity.

 

[HEK]

you never watch youtube or use gmail or use instagram, etc....?

Gmail no, instagram no, YouTube I still sin there.

 

[chagla]

someone correct me if i'm wrong. google had a way to push apps to its OWN EMPLOYEES (possibly google owned, corporate managed devices too), for testing/development whatever that is. Did it affect ordinary users? Does it affect you? Google might have been testing beta/alpha versions of thier apps for ios platform. So essentially Apple made it harder for GOogle to test ios versions of their apps.

let's learn facts.

“Update: In a statement to Bloomberg, Google said it is working with Apple to resolve the issue. "We're working with Apple to fix a temporary disruption to some of our corporate iOS apps, which we expect will be resolved soon."

Or Google, just admit how you abused the users privacy and you were caught. Now deal with the ramifications.

 

[dan110]

It's likely this will be resolved by the end of the week.

Apple will hem and haw about how they can't use the certs this way. Execs at Google and FB will apologize. New certs will be issued.

In a way, this is good and bad. Good because Apple can stop these sorts of apps from being used. Bad because I'm not sure I'm comfortable with Apple having this much control over other large companies.

I don't think you understand the crux of the issue. Those certifications are for deploying apps for a Company's internal employees. They're not supposed to use those enterprise apps/certificates to collect data from customers' devices. Companies like Google and Facebook have a choice to agree or not agree with the terms of use. Apple doesn't have some kind of unearned power in this case.
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The way that some of these companies are operating is absolutely disgusting. Yes, i'm aware that business to some has very little morals, but is this how low 'humans' have evolved to in the name of money?
Quite honestly, it's bloody repugnant.

I hope everyone that had something to do with these abuses are shown the door. This should be a teaching moment for Google. Unfortunately, I don't think anything will change at Facebook. They're bonafide sleezy.

 

[HEK]

So you use Youtube, just without doing anything to pay for it. Aren't you cool?

Good find iAVERY, I will try it, thanks.

 

[Chazz08]

Not so much. Apple’s reaction to Facebook and Google’s exploits is not about preserving privacy. It is about enforcing a restricted use of enterprise certificates to distribute apps publicly that aren’t vetted by Apple’s approval process.

Cook does a lot of grandstanding on the subject of privacy, while doing nothing to prevent data miners from using the platform.

What are you talking about? They’ve vetted apps that they found later to collect people’s data and removed them from the App Store. So how does this just have to do with enterprise certs if they’ve acted on other apps from the App Store that collected data? Now, besides that, they broke rules for the enterprise certs. Facebook more so, I believe, since they were paying people to use them.
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someone correct me if i'm wrong. google had a way to push apps to its OWN EMPLOYEES (possibly google owned, corporate managed devices too), for testing/development whatever that is. Did it affect ordinary users? Does it affect you? Google might have been testing beta/alpha versions of thier apps for ios platform. So essentially Apple made it harder for GOogle to test ios versions of their apps.

let's learn facts.

Yes. Facts. So it wasn’t just internal apps. They were allowing consumers to use the enterprise certificate to download an app that Apple wouldn’t allow in the App Store because of privacy concerns. So yes, they could admit to their wrong doing. Does it effect their internal apps as well? You betcha. But that’s their own fault for abusing the system. Now apple will probably add more restrictions to their enterprise apps.

 

[Michael Goff]

Good find iAVERY, I will try it, thanks.

Can you help me understand how it feels to feel entitled to free labor from other people? I can't say I understand it .

 

[AustinIllini]

Can you help me understand how it feels to feel entitled to free labor from other people? I can't say I understand it .

Right? There's this amazing new thing with Google. If you sign up for Google Play music, you get Youtube premium which is ad-free (except it has always been like that).

All this work and Google could pull the plug on all the third party youtube apps. They haven't yet, but you know if youtube were pulled from iOS they would.

 

[nouveau_redneck]

More respect for Apple! Thank you Apple.

 

[koruki]

So, Apple does have a pair!

I wondered if they​

would chicken out with Google (who hated Google to the bitter end?), considering how much Apple uses their services.

Nice !

Google relies on peoples data for money, Apple doesn't. I think it's in Googles interest to keep the apple users paying their bills through ads.

 

[ipedro]

I wonder if Google will retaliate by withholding the rumored $9B/year they give Apple to look the other way on Google's other questionable practices by making Google the default search engine on iOS Safari.

You do realize that Google pays Apple that huge sum of cash because they benefit from it? If Google were to withdraw from being the default search in Safari, Microsoft would gladly fill the role and instantly give a huge jolt to Bing as the new default search engine on over a billion active devices.

 

[AustinIllini]

You do realize that Google pays Apple that huge sum of cash because they benefit from it? If Google were to withdraw from being the default search in Safari, Microsoft would gladly fill the role and instantly give a huge jolt to Bing as the new default search engine on over a billion active devices.

While I think that may be the case, I would expect that many users would switch the default engine back to Google.

 

[ipedro]

Watch Google disable GMail clients connected via iPhone.

Apple can't go to customers and be like "hey, remember how you spent $1000 on your iPhone? Guess what, it can't use your gmail account you have had since 2008". That would be really, really bad.

Google: “Hey Apple, look at me, I’m cutting off my own leg to get back at you!”

You don’t seem to understand how Google makes money.

 

[techfreak23]

I wonder if Google will retaliate by withholding the rumored $9B/year they give Apple to look the other way on Google's other questionable practices by making Google the default search engine on iOS Safari.

I was just thinking about this the other day. I wonder what kind of info Google is getting by being the default search engine is the unified url bar. I wonder if they can see everything you type in there since it tries to do auto fill there. That’s a potential gold mine for Google. Meanwhile, Apple is concerned with them misusing the Enterprise Certificates to collect more data...

 

[ipedro]

While I think that may be the case, I would expect that many users would switch the default engine back to Google.

You’re giving people too much credit. The average user has no idea that they can do that, let alone how to do it. You’d probably get people going to Google.com if they really want Google but most would just search like they always search and live with whatever results they get. There’s a reason Google thinks they have to pay Apple billion dollar bags of cash to be the default search engine.

 

[macfacts]

Apple should go after the emulator apps that use this enterprises certificate too.

 

[AZhappyjack]

And... they're back.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...ise-developer-certificate-after-five-hour-ban

 

[ipponrg]

I wouldn’t exactly consider Apple small. 132k employees and more revenue than the companies you mention.

Apple is pretty small compared to other companies. It's why their product breadth is rather shallow. Most of their employees are store employees.

 

[himanshumodi]

I am curious about what happens on Android? Does google have the access to the kind of data on Android by default, for which they require a certificate on Apple? Genuine question, and not looking to reinforce any kind of anti-android paranoia.

 

[smetvid]

This is pretty darn clear in the rules for enterprise apps. Google and Facebook knew they were in severe violation of their agreement and chose to do it anyway because they are "large". As an app developer myself I'm glad to see Apple crack down on this. They make the rules and companies need to learn to play by the rules if they want to play in Apples playground.

 

[macduke]

I am loving every bit of all of this.

The cynical side of me, however, wonders if Apple is going to these greater lengths revoking certs to make this a bigger story and deflect criticism away from their massive FaceTime bug which was drawing huge amounts of negative press until the FaceBook and Google thing dropped. These stories wouldn’t have had much impact without Apple’s reaction. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think it pissed Apple off. But would the reaction have been this strong?

On the other hand, a strong rebuke of both FaceBook and Google back to back does tell the rest of the industry that they better not try anything or quickly get their crap together before they get caught because Apple isn’t playing around.

 

[BvizioN]

This ain't gonna end well for Apple.

I think you either have not read the article or you don't know what you are talking about!