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I don't get how everyone working on these apps thought there would be no issues doing this. "Yup, getting consumers to bypass the app store and side-load our a

I don't get how everyone working on these apps thought there would be no issues doing this. "Yup, getting consumers to bypass the app store and side-load our app is perfectly reasonable, no issues here. No way this could possibly backfire." Only thing I could see is the PM's didn't actually understand what the enterprise certificate program was supposed to be for.

foobiekr 8y ago
Given the common appraisal of the competence of both Facebook and Google, it is difficult to believe they just didn't understand things.
basil-rash 8y ago
I very much doubt it was a PM in charge of reading the TOS for the enterprise certificate program. When you need to sign a contract on behalf of your (multinational, FAANG) company, you get your legal team to go over it.
- javagram 8y ago
  The legal team would have reviewed the TOS but they probably weren’t looped in when some PM got the idea to use the certificate for this purpose. In my own experience people often avoid consulting legal when they think they can get away with it (or don’t realize they need to), although I’m sure it varies a LOT based on company culture.
- megy 8y ago
  What? Almost any apple developer in google could sign their app with that cert, and send it to anyone that has accepted the cert.
toasterlovin 8y ago
It's better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission. And, on top of that, Facebook and Google have retaliatory power, so they know that Apple's response will be measured in a way that it wouldn't be with smaller developers.
mtgx 8y ago
Google certainly has a history of doing stuff like this: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17076670 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17076670
paxy 8y ago
Someone decided (probably correctly) that the benefits of the app while it was distributed were greater than the potential penalties that would come way down the line.

foobiekr 8y ago

Given the common appraisal of the competence of both Facebook and Google, it is difficult to believe they just didn't understand things.

basil-rash 8y ago

I very much doubt it was a PM in charge of reading the TOS for the enterprise certificate program. When you need to sign a contract on behalf of your (multinational, FAANG) company, you get your legal team to go over it.

javagram 8y ago
The legal team would have reviewed the TOS but they probably weren’t looped in when some PM got the idea to use the certificate for this purpose. In my own experience people often avoid consulting legal when they think they can get away with it (or don’t realize they need to), although I’m sure it varies a LOT based on company culture.
megy 8y ago
What? Almost any apple developer in google could sign their app with that cert, and send it to anyone that has accepted the cert.

toasterlovin 8y ago

It's better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission. And, on top of that, Facebook and Google have retaliatory power, so they know that Apple's response will be measured in a way that it wouldn't be with smaller developers.

mtgx 8y ago

Google certainly has a history of doing stuff like this: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17076670 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17076670

paxy 8y ago

Someone decided (probably correctly) that the benefits of the app while it was distributed were greater than the potential penalties that would come way down the line.