Parental Control App Developers Urge Apple to Make Screen Time APIs Available for Third-Party Apps

[fairuz]

I grew up before smartphones, the Internet and even before computers were commonplace in homes and I have news for you. Many people don’t learn self-control until halfway through college and a lot never learn it.

Human behavior hasnt changed. Things have always been messed up. Smartphones have just given these things a wider audience.

I don't disagree with this, but besides the wider audience, it's addictive. Thing is it's both easier for kids to fall for it and worse for them when they do, and it's entirely preventable.

 

[Rogifan]

I see The NY Times put up an editorial saying the government should look into Apple over the App Store. Here’s the problem. When you buy an iPhone what you are actually buying is a license to use software in a way approved by Apple via end user license agreement. You’re not buying a piece of hardware or you can do whatever you want with. If that’s what somebody wants then they should not be buying an iPhone.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/02/opinion/apple-app-store-iphone.html

 

[fairuz]

I see The NY Times put up an editorial saying the government should look into Apple over the App Store. Here’s the problem. When you buy an iPhone what you are actually buying is a license to use software in a way approved by Apple via end user license agreement. You’re not buying a piece of hardware or you can do whatever you want with. If that’s what somebody wants then they should not be buying an iPhone.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/02/opinion/apple-app-store-iphone.html

That doesn't refute what the NY Times article is arguing for. Anticompetitive practice is always done this way. But it's a weak article, and Apple has good reasons for doing what they do.

They keep bringing up Microsoft. When you try to download any non-IE browser in Windows 10, you get warned once or twice that IE is "better," plus another time if you happen to search for the browser download in Bing. There's no reason other than bs for them doing this (especially since IE is the worst, lol).

 

[AutomaticApple]

They keep bringing up Microsoft. When you try to download any non-IE browser in Windows 10, you get warned once or twice that IE is "better," plus another time if you happen to search for the browser download in Bing. There's no reason other than bs for them doing this (especially since IE is the worst, lol).

Are you talking about Microsoft Edge?

 

[KevinN206]

2012 is not relevant. The rules were updated in 2017, giving these vendors plenty of time to become compliant. Some did, and remain in the App Store. Those that refused to stop installing MDM profiles were blocked/removed.

Deal with it. Update your apps. Crying to the EU or complaining you used to get away with it but now you don’t is not going to change Apple’s mind about MDM use outside the enterprise.

You think Apple releasing Screen Time is relevant to them cracking down on vendors abusing functionality meant only for enterprise use, but it’s a bigger issue than just Screen Time type apps. The crackdown on the abuses of features and capabilities meant for enterprise but used in customer-facing apps has been ongoing, with even Google and Facebook getting busted recently.

Furthermore, Apple has nothing to gain financially from blocking those MDM-abusing apps, and in fact their revenue and profits suffer for having done so. I don’t understand the anticompetitive angle that’s being pushed. If Apple were selling a Screen Time app that argument would at least make sense, but that’s not the case here.

There are plenty of apps that compete with Apple, including email, notes, camera, file sync/backup, video and music rental/streaming/purchase, messaging, podcast, FaceTime, maps, keyboards, calculators. emoji/Animoji, alarms/timers, photo library and many more—including Screen Time type apps. One thing all those available apps have in common is that they do not violate rules and restrictions against non-enterprise use of MDM.

btw PR spin from companies with apps blocked due to MDM abuse may not be the best source of information.

Questions:

1. Why did Apple allow the use of MDM within these apps from at least from 2012 to 2017?
2. Why did they allow this full "unrestricted" access to your data and children's security?
3. How did it escape detection for five years? Did it escape detection?
4. Why did they disregard voluntary disclosure of MDM usage?
5. Did Apple knowingly ignore the "unrestricted" access of massive security and privacy issues?

Sure the link is an app developer that got removed. They provided the timeline since 2012 of all the updates that Apple approved including disclosure of MDM usage. Apple executive PR statements contradicts the capability of MDM documentations. Are you saying that MDM documentations are wrong and actually allow more capabilities? I remember when Apple executives were very truthful with battery throttling, iphone 6 bending, and touch disease.

Is it coincidence that the banning of these apps happen when Screen Time is available? Very nice of Apple to go on this rage for "security and privacy" and yet are hypocrite to allow these apps for at least 5 years when they were beneficial to the App Store. And then literally threw them out like trash once Screen Time is released because of "security and privacy".

It's absolutely incredulous that Apple actually allowed these apps with FULL "unrestricted" rights for the last five years spying on your children. It's really incredible that such a security & privacy invasion escaped for so long.

Apple: Ignore, Copy, Ban.

 

[fairuz]

Are you talking about Microsoft Edge?

Yes

 

[JRobinsonJr]

It's impossible unless Apple implements a new level of sandboxing for these apps that makes them pretty much hermetic except for access to this API, and that's hard. Otherwise, nothing stops an app with access to this data from sharing it.

Yeah. We get that. APPLE is the only party that can implement these features in a secure manner.
[doublepost=1557249636][/doublepost]

Questions:

1. Why did Apple allow the use of MDM within these apps from at least from 2012 to 2017?
2. Why did they allow this full "unrestricted" access to your data and children's security?
3. How did it escape detection for five years? Did it escape detection?
4. Why did they disregard voluntary disclosure of MDM usage?
5. Did Apple knowingly ignore the "unrestricted" access of massive security and privacy issues?

Sure the link is an app developer that got removed. They provided the timeline since 2012 of all the updates that Apple approved including disclosure of MDM usage. Apple executive PR statements contradicts the capability of MDM documentations. Are you saying that MDM documentations are wrong and actually allow more capabilities? I remember when Apple executives were very truthful with battery throttling, iphone 6 bending, and touch disease.

Is it coincidence that the banning of these apps happen when Screen Time is available? Very nice of Apple to go on this rage for "security and privacy" and yet are hypocrite to allow these apps for at least 5 years when they were beneficial to the App Store. And then literally threw them out like trash once Screen Time is released because of "security and privacy".

It's absolutely incredulous that Apple actually allowed these apps with FULL "unrestricted" rights for the last five years spying on your children. It's really incredible that such a security & privacy invasion escaped for so long.

Apple: Ignore, Copy, Ban.

These are not mutually exclusive propositions. It is entire likely that the timing is because Apple started to pay more attention... because of ScreenTime. It is also true that MDM's can and do expose your data.

 

[KevinN206]

Yeah. We get that. APPLE is the only party that can implement these features in a secure manner.
[doublepost=1557249636][/doublepost]

These are not mutually exclusive propositions. It is entire likely that the timing is because Apple started to pay more attention... because of ScreenTime. It is also true that MDM's can and do expose your data.

It's unfathomable that the security and privacy minds of Apple allowed such blatant unrestricted access for the last five years even when one of the app voluntarily disclosed its usage. This is nothing more than a PR spin by Apple. They knowingly allowed these apps for at least five years - did nothing - and then ban them when Screen Time is released. It's amazing how Apple got a free pass for allowing such unrestricted free range on iOS.

 

[Appleman3546]

Whether or not other competitor apps use MDM technology, it is for the consumer to decide if they want to risk it and not Apple (unless of course there was another App Store to download apps from on iOS which would give consumers a choice). Apple has been getting very monopolistic lately about the App Store and that bubble is going to burst either in Europe with Spotify or in the US with the app consumer lawsuit that was just remanded back to the district court today with a 5-4 opinion to allow the monopoly lawsuit to continue. I guess Apple is just trying to make it last as long as possible...