The New York Times recently published a report, in which it brought up the recent removal of several screen-time and parental-control apps from the App Store by Apple. According to the report, the sudden removal was possibly due to competitive reasons, as these monitoring apps were giving some sort of competition to Apple’s own Screen Time feature that was introduced in iOS 12.
After a thorough research, The New York Times and app-data firm, Sensor Tower have confirmed that Apple has pulled or blocked no less than 11 of the 17 most downloaded apps related to the above mentioned categories, in addition to some lesser-known apps as well, just over the last 12 months.
Apple didn’t simply delete all the apps in question. In some instances, it strictly urged companies to get rid of features that enabled parents to monitor and control their children’s devices and access to specific apps.
The report also included statements from a number of developers whose apps were pulled from the App Store. One developer claimed about the removal happening all of a sudden, without a prior notice. Apple has been facing several complaints regarding these changes, including an antitrust complaint filed by a couple of Russian developers with EU’s competition office and Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity firm.
MacRumors reader, Zachary Robinson reached out to Apple team in concern regarding the situation. Apple Inc’s Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller provided a detailed response, explaining that the removal was due to the risk of Mobile Device Management (MDM) technology being exploited by these apps. The tech allows developers to observe all activities that transpire on a user’s phone.
According to Schiller, the purpose of MDM tech is to allow enterprise users to install, access and monitor apps on devices owned by the company for management purposes. The tech, if used by third-party developers, can give rise to critical privacy and security issues. This is why Apple decided to take immediate action to tackle these issues.
You are encouraged to read Schiller’s full e-mail, which will give you a detailed insight into the whole situations and why this move by Apple was needed.
Apple has always been serious about its security and privacy laws, so such an action was expected. The only thing that didn’t sit well with users was that a number of the removed apps provided cross-platform compatibility with Android devices, making them quite flexible and convenient to use. Apple’s Screen Time Feature, on the other hand, doesn’t possess this flexibility.
Read next: Meet Your iPhone’s Grandparent - Pocket Calculator
Featured Photo: SOPA Images via Getty Images
After a thorough research, The New York Times and app-data firm, Sensor Tower have confirmed that Apple has pulled or blocked no less than 11 of the 17 most downloaded apps related to the above mentioned categories, in addition to some lesser-known apps as well, just over the last 12 months.
Apple didn’t simply delete all the apps in question. In some instances, it strictly urged companies to get rid of features that enabled parents to monitor and control their children’s devices and access to specific apps.
The report also included statements from a number of developers whose apps were pulled from the App Store. One developer claimed about the removal happening all of a sudden, without a prior notice. Apple has been facing several complaints regarding these changes, including an antitrust complaint filed by a couple of Russian developers with EU’s competition office and Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity firm.
MacRumors reader, Zachary Robinson reached out to Apple team in concern regarding the situation. Apple Inc’s Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller provided a detailed response, explaining that the removal was due to the risk of Mobile Device Management (MDM) technology being exploited by these apps. The tech allows developers to observe all activities that transpire on a user’s phone.
According to Schiller, the purpose of MDM tech is to allow enterprise users to install, access and monitor apps on devices owned by the company for management purposes. The tech, if used by third-party developers, can give rise to critical privacy and security issues. This is why Apple decided to take immediate action to tackle these issues.
You are encouraged to read Schiller’s full e-mail, which will give you a detailed insight into the whole situations and why this move by Apple was needed.
Apple has always been serious about its security and privacy laws, so such an action was expected. The only thing that didn’t sit well with users was that a number of the removed apps provided cross-platform compatibility with Android devices, making them quite flexible and convenient to use. Apple’s Screen Time Feature, on the other hand, doesn’t possess this flexibility.
Read next: Meet Your iPhone’s Grandparent - Pocket Calculator
Featured Photo: SOPA Images via Getty Images
