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> A messaging app that can read SMS and replace Messages. Oh, dear! No! One of the best decisions Apple took (among many) from the beginning from the privacy a

> A messaging app that can read SMS and replace Messages. Oh, dear! No! One of the best decisions Apple took (among many) from the beginning from the privacy angle was/is not allowing any apps to access SMS or call logs. The way it implemented OTP entry from SMS is also brilliant (though it doesn't work for some message formats). We've seen this on Android over and over again. Most users don't understand app permissions well from the privacy angle, and will say yes to any request (we've known for a long time from usability studies that users will usually do whatever is easy to dismiss any dialog). If Apple gives access to SMS and call logs, then those will be abused by third party apps (like Facebook, Google and many others), just like it has been on Android. Apple could instead do a lot more to restrict the information that apps can collect and improve its app permission model. But it would be nice to allow default apps to be setup as a user likes and give users more freedom. That's something most users would vote for (if it could be achieved that way).

Wowfunhappy 8y ago
On the other hand, it is almost undoubtable that one of the reasons iMessage is so popular, is that it's the only messaging app that can integrate with SMS on the iPhone. Apple then, in turn, uses the existing network effect of iMessage as a way to sell more iPhones. That doesn't seem like fair competition at all.
- crgwbr 8y ago
  iMessage is popular, but that has less to do with anything Apple has done and more to do with how badly Google has failed with a messaging strategy. iMessage is popular because it works ok-enough, is the default, and is consistent. Would you really rather have the Android situation, where you need SMS and umpteen other third-party messaging apps, including whichever 3 google is pushing this month?
  - Wowfunhappy 8y ago
    Personally? I really, really don't want to switch between two (or more) messaging apps depending on who I'm talking to. I have an iPhone and live in the iMessage-friendly United States, so this works out well enough for me. If I lived in Europe where everyone used Whatsapp, the inability to change the default would be a big point of frustration with iOS.

Wowfunhappy 8y ago

On the other hand, it is almost undoubtable that one of the reasons iMessage is so popular, is that it's the only messaging app that can integrate with SMS on the iPhone. Apple then, in turn, uses the existing network effect of iMessage as a way to sell more iPhones. That doesn't seem like fair competition at all.

crgwbr 8y ago
iMessage is popular, but that has less to do with anything Apple has done and more to do with how badly Google has failed with a messaging strategy. iMessage is popular because it works ok-enough, is the default, and is consistent. Would you really rather have the Android situation, where you need SMS and umpteen other third-party messaging apps, including whichever 3 google is pushing this month?
- Wowfunhappy 8y ago
  Personally? I really, really don't want to switch between two (or more) messaging apps depending on who I'm talking to. I have an iPhone and live in the iMessage-friendly United States, so this works out well enough for me. If I lived in Europe where everyone used Whatsapp, the inability to change the default would be a big point of frustration with iOS.