Sideloading Bill Would Allow 'Malware, Scams and Data-Exploitation to Proliferate,' Says Apple

[icanhazmac]

To those in favor of sideloading, alt-payments, etc.

I am not sure any of you understand that there is a significant portion of the Apple user base that wants the walled garden, does not care about side loading and just wants things from a single source. This particular model is unique in the mobile device marketplace and once gone will not be back.

What we lose:

Single source for apps
Single source for payments (security of Apple vs some no name dev with a no name CC processor, see below)
Single source for customer service
Privacy statements for all apps (if they leave the Apple app store you have no idea what information they are collecting and they don't have to tell you)

What we gain:
Nothing, some claim that consumers will see lower prices, I won't hold my breath. Some say "poor devs need to eat", devs do just fine.

Lies about allowing sideloading and alt-stores, alt-payments:

1) You can still use the Apple app store if you want to.

LIE - just like the MacOS marketplace some devs will go it alone and do everything from their own website or be offered exclusive deals by the likes of Epic to only be in their store. Now the market is fragmented. I might have a different view on this if all "certified" developers HAD to maintain a presence in Apple's app store. Example: try finding Malwarebytes on the Mac app store.... not there. Carbon Copy Cloner...... not there.

2) Alt payment systems are not a problem

LIE - just like in the MacOS marketplace if I want an app that is not offered in the Mac app store I need to trust that Dev X has a reputable CC processor and has the budget and wherewithal to secure their own systems. No one is 100% secure but I sure as hell will trust Apple with my financials before some un-named company that X developer uses. How often have you as individuals received notification that your CC information was hacked and sold on the dark web? Hell if Experian and Home Depot cannot protect your data do you really trust the choice of some indie game developer? Following my Malwarebytes example, their CC processor is 2Checkout, who the hell is 2Checkout?

No link to their website but if you research it they are actually Verifone, why didn't Malwarebytes tell people this? They have been hacked:

Verifone May Have Been Exposed To Hackers

No company or POS location is safe from hackers and potential security breaches. According to the following article, payment terminal

www.paymentsjournal.com

Verifone confirms corporate network was hacked

US stores hit.

www.itnews.com.au

Verifone hacked

The list of companies that have been hit with data breaches is seemingly endless. In January the payment heavyweight Verifone was hit by a breach. The San Jose, California based company is the largest maker of POS terminals in the […]

jleconsultants.com

Payments Giant Verifone Investigating Breach – Krebs on Security

krebsonsecurity.com

CCC uses FastSpring, who the hell are they?

'nuf said!


3) Customer service will remain the same or get better

LIE and LULZ! Have fun getting a refund when your 2 year old mistakenly IAPs $1000 worth of game currency or if an app doesn't live up to expectations, etc. I like the fact that all devs must adhere to a certain set of rules as part of being on the app store! In the wild wild west none of these rules exist.

4) Your data won't be exploited

Outside of the Apple app store devs are not required to tell you anything about the data they collect about you and sell.

The only thing I don't enjoy about the walled garden is Apple's control over what kind of apps can be in the store, just open that floodgate and all will be well with the world.

 

[alex2792]

The Apple brass can’t possibly be delusional enough to believe that they’re going to be able to maintain the status quo much longer. The smart play here is to trash their absurd App Store policies and allow game streaming apps, emulators etc.

 

[SedellJ]

Hope the bill passes, but I doubt it
And even if it does they’re not gonna roll the change worldwide.

If Microsoft lets you install apps on your Xbox by paying 20 bucks to enable developer mode I’m pretty sure Apple can do it for their “app console”
Pretty sure Xbox users don’t get their data leaked every week

Because Xbox doesn't have a secure element with a clone of your credit card on it. Or a model of your face/fingerprint. Or your bank account. Or your health records. Or your daily travel patterns. Or two different camera angles of everything you see. Or a microphone to listen to everything you say. Or direct access to your phone number/calling and texting privileges. Or--soon enough--your actual drivers license.

The data on an Xbox, which has a significantly smaller user base than a mobile phone company (much less its own competitor the PlayStation), is small potatoes compared to the data on a phone.

 

[huge_apple_fangirl]

These senators are clueless. Schumer probably thinks malware is an outfit you wear when shopping.

Why is government wanting to control the business model of a corporation? This should frighten everyone, because no company will be immune to this once they’ve crossed that line.

Instead of being angry at Congress for this, you should be angry at Apple. A situation where one company has the unilateral ability to tax and regulate huge swaths of digital commerce is simply untenable. Apple should have recognized that the status quo cannot continue, and cooperated with developers and regulators to find a new framework that took everyone's concerns into account. And honestly, Apple never should have ran the App Store as a for-profit business. The original plan was for it to simply break-even.

Instead, Apple has elected to double down on its position, do the least that it can to follow regulations (like in the Netherlands), try to extract as much money from devs as it possible can, and refused to even acknowledge regulators' concerns . And yes, that means Apple may very well find itself subject to the blunt instrument of antitrust regulation, and its associated collateral damage. But that outcome was in no way foretold.

Judging by what happened in South Korea and the Netherlands, regulation is coming. And looking at Apple's behavior there, Apple will be forced to comply, albeit with a lot of kicking and screaming. This is unlikely to engender sympathy in lawmakers when they consider further legislation. By choosing to ignore reality and have a tantrum, Apple is making things much, much worse for themselves.

 

[SedellJ]

To be honest (heavy Dropbox user here), the iOS app is a mess compared to a MacOS one.

I am also a heavy Dropbox user but at least it's native on iOS. Not to mention integrates with the Files app.

 

[nebojsak]

I am also a heavy Dropbox user but at least it's native on iOS. Not to mention integrates with the Files app.

It's also native on my Mac. And integrates with the Finder seamlessly. And is 10x more intutive to use than iOS app.

 

[Cosmosent]

screwed-up, looks like Microsoft filed it's Amicus Brief with the Court late last week.

 

[nastysailboat]

Dear lord I hope Apple loses this.

I don't I still can't see why you want apple to make a phone like android. The reason the iPhone is good is because it has software that runs with it not runs it down.

 

[nastysailboat]

If Apple is going to do this they might as well stop making the iPhone

 

[nebojsak]

If Apple is going to do this they might as well stop making the iPhone

Apple will be finally doomed?

 

[turbineseaplane]

If Apple is going to do this they might as well stop making the iPhone

Overreact much?

They make a lot of money on the hardware itself

And make no mistake, there will still be a HUGE segment of users (overwhelming majority) that will continue to only choose the walled garden.

In fact, if Apple actually has to compete a touch, it's quite likely they shine up the relative value of their own App Store platform offering to the point that it's also preferred by the vast vast vast majority of developers still.

Consumers win (that us!) if Apple is forced to up its game and earn the App Store business.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Ya know... Android has allowed sideloading since the beginning.

Yet nobody cares.

All the big popular Android apps are still in the official Google Play Store. (where developers must give Google a commission!)

In other words... Android sideloading is a blip in the grand scheme of things. It's not really a big deal. Never has been.

So maybe iOS sideloading will be as "popular" as Android sideloading.

?

 

[dk001]

I think back on November 2021. Craig Federighi (SVP) said the same thing about Sideloading how it's going to open the floodgates to the Malware.

If Sideloading opens up. Can you imagine how easily cyber criminals will target the system? It will give them full access. Hoping for the win for Apple. Keep it closed.

If we had 5%-10% or more actually sideloading on Android I could see your concern. But it is well under 1% and a lot of that is in countries with limited or constrained internet access. The numbers do not support that claim.

 

[Analog Kid]

I’m so tired of arguing about this. If you want to side load, buy Android. If you prefer the walled garden approach, buy iOS. If you don’t like those options, build your own damned system.

 

[nebojsak]

Ya know... Android has allowed sideloading since the beginning.

Yet nobody cares.

All the big popular Android apps are still in the official Google Play Store. (where developers must give Google a commission!)

In other words... Android sideloading is a blip in the grand scheme of things. It's not really a big deal. Never has been.

So maybe iOS sideloading will be as "popular" as Android sideloading.

?

Exactly this.

 

[ghostlypi]

I sure hope that this legislation will NOT pass ... the market is deciding already and continue buying iOS devices as they are more secure ...

I would like to remind you that this is not a mandate to install 3rd party apps. At the end of the day, many users use the internet to acquire and install apps on their Apple Laptops without batting an eyelid. The end user has the choice to trust apple to do their security screening or to do it themselves. The argument here is not one of security, but one of choice. As both an Android user and an iOS user, I do not sideload apps by choice, but knowing the feature is there is important so that in the case that an app I rely on gets removed from the play store, I can still obtain it.

 

[boss.king]

I’m so tired of arguing about this. If you want to side load, buy Android. If you prefer the walled garden approach, buy iOS. If you don’t like those options, build your own damned system.

Fortunately, it's not up to you to make that decision.

 

[dk001]

Completely inaccurate.

Sideloading would still be sandboxed and can be done exceptionally safely

The "Doom and Gloom" rhetoric with some here is sad considering that realistically looking at things lays their arguments to rest. But will they look? Nope.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I’m so tired of arguing about this

Is somebody forcing you to?
It's a choice.

Just like side loading would be.
No forcing -- all choice

 

[teak421]

Wouldn't affect me as I would only use apps from the store... Give people the choice, though.

 

[dk001]

I love how people conveniently ignore articles, malware statistics and posts from us that does not show Android is "just as safe as iOS".

As posted earlier -

2FA app with 10,000 Google Play downloads loaded well-known banking trojan

2FA Authenticator offered real 2FA functionality, but it came with strings attached.

arstechnica.com

Notice the words "Google Play". Somehow that doesn't equate to "sideloading" ...

 

[dk001]

It certainly does make a point. With side-loading there no longer needs to be approval from Apple. So if one of these gets out there, Apple can't remove it from their store because its on Store X.

Dude you are seriously reaching ... and you are a few feet short of that rung.

 

[reyesmac]

Apple could if they wanted to create a Rosetta like app for iOS that would run sideloaded apps only in a sandboxed mode and give the end user granular control over what those apps could access. They could go so far as to block pirated apps if need be. The end user could emergency shut down the Rosetta app if they feel it is a security risk. Or only allow it to run when they want it to. That’s just one way apple could allow side loading with no effect to them other than someone else would get the money and not Apple.
Having said that, sideloading would be the primary way some countries would use to spy on their citizens. It’s a double edged sword.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Having said that, sideloading would be the primary way some countries would use to spy on their citizens. It’s a double edged sword.

As opposed to now, where Chinese government pressure makes Apple remove apps that the citizens have tried to use to organize and protest (and a variety of other situations)

That's better to you?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Why are people making so many passionate arguments about mega lockdown on iOS, but not for macOS?

If it's just the inertia of "how it has always been", that is not a good argument and it doesn't hold up (at all).

Do people who want iOS always locked down and fully controlled by Apple also want macOS to go that route?