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Apple just booted all these apps off the Appstore, supposedly because they somehow didn't notice that there were dozens of apps installing VPN profiles to block
by ballenf 9y ago
Apple just booted all these apps off the Appstore, supposedly because they somehow didn't notice that there were dozens of apps installing VPN profiles to block ads or "improve" privacy. (There were a few good ones, but most were thinly veiled spyware.) And that these apps were all violating the rule against misuse of the intended functionality of device features -- which is certainly true but wasn't being done surreptitiously.
You have to wonder how many of those apps had deals to sell "anonymized" data to FB or Google and whether Apple saw this as a threat to its platform or products. Many of the TOS's could have been read to allow even raw data going to an "affiliate" which FB could easily have become for any number of them.
This coming on the heels of removing native FB support in iOS 11. Although, that was likely unrelated to data leakage.
- willstrafach 9y agoThis is absolutely not true, all such apps are still live.
- ballenf 9y agoUnless Apple reverses course, it absolutely is true. They are not being pulled, but none will be able to update and will be de-listed if they don't issue an update to remove the functionality. https://github.com/AdguardTeam/AdguardForiOS/issues/445#issuecomment-315987522 https://github.com/AdguardTeam/AdguardForiOS/issues/445#issu...
- sametmax 9y agoNot being pulled out is not being booted. It's just a warning.
- ballenf 9y agoBooted from the store is what I should have said. Maybe de-listed is the better term. De-listed plus impossible to get new ones approved.
- nebabyte 9y agoYou should correct your original statement then.
- ballenf 9y agoThey are being pulled from the store. Too late to edit, sorry for the vague shorthand.
- willstrafach 9y agoThis does not apply to the discussion at hand though, Onavo Protect does not block ads. It will not be pulled or de-listed.
- willstrafach 9y agoAd-blocking is a separate matter. VPN apps which do not block ads will continue to remain in the App Store, such as the one being discussed here (Onavo Protect).