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Apple bans vaping apps from the iOS App Store

33 points by ProAm 7y ago

wan23 7y ago
This is just another warning to avoid being dependent on Apple and the App Store. Imagine being a hardware startup that invested in a mobile app to control your device and then mass produced and marketed that device only to have Apple pull the app without warning.
- jdgoesmarching 7y ago
  I’m not defending this Apple decision, but in general I’m very tired and annoyed with hardware that insists on unnecessary apps. Especially when they are 5% useful and 95% data mining. Both Bose and Sony were found to be scraping listener data via their apps. I believe these are both optional for now, but companies keep normalizing apps being required and I’m very uncomfortable with it.
  - swiley 7y ago
    Someone on here a while ago said “protocols and not apps.” That’s definitely the right way to look at things, especially when it involves hardware.
  - nesky 7y ago
    I'm guessing this applies to every type of music app though? Might as well throw Ultimate Ears, JBL, etc etc into the ring too.
- ninkendo 7y ago
  I can't imagine Apple won't be seeing lawsuits from this. The PAX app was taken off even though most people use it for dry bud/flower marijuana, which has never been a part of this big vaping health scare. Collateral damage, I guess.
gargalatas 7y ago
Steve jobs knows what is good for you. Other people same bad practises.
- favorited 7y ago
  Steve Jobs has been dead for over 8 years.
  - gargalatas 7y ago
    Exatly. But they still follow his bad principles.
skuthus 7y ago
Can't keep the HKMaps app but we can ban this. interesting.
theredbox 7y ago
American tech imperialism in the real world. Apple thinks the US has the moral authority to ban the vaping apps...except maybe the rest of the world disagrees.
anonymouswacker 7y ago
Apple is taking a moral stance against addictive substances? Perhaps they should ban Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram next, to really free us from these unhealthy addictions.
goatinaboat 7y ago
What on Earth is a “vaping app”??
- apetresc 7y ago
  It controls the hardware e-cigarette.
theincredulousk 7y ago
Signaling and politics. Called it in a previous post - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20942910 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20942910. If a person or entity has no skin in the game WRT a prevailing topic, but there is moral high-ground to stand on, they will get involved or form an opinion solely for the opportunity, essentially a photo-op, of them standing on that high-ground. "Protect the children" is probably the most popular high-ground used in this way. Apple doesn't make a vaporizer, nor do vaporizing apps amount to more than a rounding error in revenue for them. Right on cue, they take the opportunity to make this token action, so that this article can be published. It is a selfie of them standing on the high-ground; in the same way people stage a carefully framed IG post of them out "exploring" when they are actually in their backyard.
immawizard 7y ago
I checked Storz & Binkel app, and it’s missing from App Store. S&B makes vapes for dry herb, which are completely outside of the controversy. Fortunately, most of their models are perfectly usable without the app so no real harm for users has been done. While Apple policy seems heavy handed and completely out of touch, I hope situations like this will bring back physical controls to devices.
lunias 7y ago
Seems like there are still a lot of cigar-related apps in their app store. What say you, Apple? I really can't stand all the double standards, hypocrisy, and ignorance around vaping.

33 points by ProAm 7y ago

This is just another warning to avoid being dependent on Apple and the App Store. Imagine being a hardware startup that invested in a mobile app to control your device and then mass produced and marketed that device only to have Apple pull the app without warning.

jdgoesmarching 7y ago
I’m not defending this Apple decision, but in general I’m very tired and annoyed with hardware that insists on unnecessary apps. Especially when they are 5% useful and 95% data mining. Both Bose and Sony were found to be scraping listener data via their apps. I believe these are both optional for now, but companies keep normalizing apps being required and I’m very uncomfortable with it.
- swiley 7y ago
  Someone on here a while ago said “protocols and not apps.” That’s definitely the right way to look at things, especially when it involves hardware.
- nesky 7y ago
  I'm guessing this applies to every type of music app though? Might as well throw Ultimate Ears, JBL, etc etc into the ring too.
ninkendo 7y ago
I can't imagine Apple won't be seeing lawsuits from this. The PAX app was taken off even though most people use it for dry bud/flower marijuana, which has never been a part of this big vaping health scare. Collateral damage, I guess.

gargalatas 7y ago

Steve jobs knows what is good for you. Other people same bad practises.

favorited 7y ago
Steve Jobs has been dead for over 8 years.
- gargalatas 7y ago
  Exatly. But they still follow his bad principles.

skuthus 7y ago

Can't keep the HKMaps app but we can ban this. interesting.

theredbox 7y ago

American tech imperialism in the real world. Apple thinks the US has the moral authority to ban the vaping apps...except maybe the rest of the world disagrees.

anonymouswacker 7y ago

Apple is taking a moral stance against addictive substances? Perhaps they should ban Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram next, to really free us from these unhealthy addictions.

goatinaboat 7y ago

What on Earth is a “vaping app”??

apetresc 7y ago
It controls the hardware e-cigarette.

theincredulousk 7y ago

Signaling and politics. Called it in a previous post - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20942910 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20942910. If a person or entity has no skin in the game WRT a prevailing topic, but there is moral high-ground to stand on, they will get involved or form an opinion solely for the opportunity, essentially a photo-op, of them standing on that high-ground. "Protect the children" is probably the most popular high-ground used in this way. Apple doesn't make a vaporizer, nor do vaporizing apps amount to more than a rounding error in revenue for them. Right on cue, they take the opportunity to make this token action, so that this article can be published. It is a selfie of them standing on the high-ground; in the same way people stage a carefully framed IG post of them out "exploring" when they are actually in their backyard.

immawizard 7y ago

I checked Storz & Binkel app, and it’s missing from App Store. S&B makes vapes for dry herb, which are completely outside of the controversy. Fortunately, most of their models are perfectly usable without the app so no real harm for users has been done. While Apple policy seems heavy handed and completely out of touch, I hope situations like this will bring back physical controls to devices.

lunias 7y ago

Seems like there are still a lot of cigar-related apps in their app store. What say you, Apple? I really can't stand all the double standards, hypocrisy, and ignorance around vaping.