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I'm glad that Apple can't remotely delete apps from my device. It would be somewhat dystopic if they had that capability.

by snazz 6y ago

Dylan16807 6y ago
But they could make the refund wait until you do! It wouldn't be foolproof in case of backups but it would be a lot better than an honor system.
- snazz 6y ago
  That's true; that would be the better solution. Requesting a refund before deleting the app would give the user an error message telling them to delete it.
  - tadfisher 6y ago
    With the corner case that if the user no longer has access to a device with the app installed, they cannot get a refund.
    - dathinab 6y ago
      If you lose the product you bought you can generally not get an refound ;=) And doesn't apple have some form of remote logout/factory reset feature for lost devices? EDIT: (Sure requiring remote factory reset for lost devices would not work if it's a iPad which has not internet connection and never gets one again in it's live time, but that would be an acceptable corner case I thing).
    - rzwitserloot 6y ago
      Of course they can. If you no longer have access to a device you used to own, you should use findmy to remote wipe it. If you really didn't want that, then you should at the very least go through the trouble of filing, with apple, that the device is lost or stolen, so that any attempt to return that device to an apple store or reseller to fix it gets it flagged. It seems bizarre in the extreme that you'd want to somehow protect your privacy by not reporting your stolen stuff as stolen with apple, but that you opt in to a system where installing apps requires going through a single vendor.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
efreak 6y ago
There's more than one way to do this. If the purchase is refunded on the device, the app can be uninstalled at the same time; this is how Google does it. If the app is refunded on another device or in the browser, then all it takes is for the app store to keep track of app licenses (which it already does) and remove apps when their license disappears. It seems odd, though, that Apple wouldn't have an API that allows locking app functionally behind licenses; on Android [1], > With Google Play Licensing, your application can query Google Play at run time to obtain the licensing status for the current user, then allow or disallow further use as appropriate. > ... > Note: The Google Play Licensing service is primarily intended for paid applications that wish to verify that the current user did in fact pay for the application on Google Play. However, any application (including free apps) may use the licensing service to initiate the download of an APK expansion file. In other words, the licensing service checks for both IAPs as well as if you've paid for the app itself. [1]: https://developer.android.com/google/play/licensing https://developer.android.com/google/play/licensing
- nvahalik 6y ago
  > that Apple wouldn't have an API that allows locking app functionally behind licenses; This is what their subscription system does, though. I'm not familiar with their for-pay app setup, but for subscriptions you can monitor the receipt and see what it's status is. Perhaps you can't do it from there, but I know when even an free app is installed, you still get receipt information written to the device.
- nyuszika7h 6y ago
  It seems odd, though, that Apple wouldn't have an API that allows locking app functionally behind licenses They do have something like that: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/in-app_purchase/validating_receipts_with_the_app_store https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/in-app_pu...
perfectstorm 6y ago
actually they do have the ability to remotely wipe an app https://www.macworld.com/article/1134930/iphone_killswitch.html https://www.macworld.com/article/1134930/iphone_killswitch.h...
pier25 6y ago
Oh but they install apps with certificates that will expire sooner or later.
rand49an 6y ago
They absolutely have the ability to do that though, they clearly have the ability to shut a device down entirely too based on the iOS activation system. I probably wouldn't go as far as 'dystopic' either.
- sjwright 6y ago
  By that definition, if you want to be realistic about it, every OS vendor with regular software updates has the ability to do anything they like on any device they like.
dathinab 6y ago
They can, just push a Apple update and wups done. They could also make the removal part of the refound process in which case the user would delete the app through the refound process. The idea that this is because it protects users isn't holding up any closer inspection.

I'm glad that Apple can't remotely delete apps from my device. It would be somewhat dystopic if they had that capability.

by snazz 6y ago

I'm glad that Apple can't remotely delete apps from my device. It would be somewhat dystopic if they had that capability.

Dylan16807 6y ago

But they could make the refund wait until you do! It wouldn't be foolproof in case of backups but it would be a lot better than an honor system.

snazz 6y ago
That's true; that would be the better solution. Requesting a refund before deleting the app would give the user an error message telling them to delete it.
- tadfisher 6y ago
  With the corner case that if the user no longer has access to a device with the app installed, they cannot get a refund.
  - dathinab 6y ago
    If you lose the product you bought you can generally not get an refound ;=) And doesn't apple have some form of remote logout/factory reset feature for lost devices? EDIT: (Sure requiring remote factory reset for lost devices would not work if it's a iPad which has not internet connection and never gets one again in it's live time, but that would be an acceptable corner case I thing).
  - rzwitserloot 6y ago
    Of course they can. If you no longer have access to a device you used to own, you should use findmy to remote wipe it. If you really didn't want that, then you should at the very least go through the trouble of filing, with apple, that the device is lost or stolen, so that any attempt to return that device to an apple store or reseller to fix it gets it flagged. It seems bizarre in the extreme that you'd want to somehow protect your privacy by not reporting your stolen stuff as stolen with apple, but that you opt in to a system where installing apps requires going through a single vendor.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

efreak 6y ago

There's more than one way to do this. If the purchase is refunded on the device, the app can be uninstalled at the same time; this is how Google does it. If the app is refunded on another device or in the browser, then all it takes is for the app store to keep track of app licenses (which it already does) and remove apps when their license disappears. It seems odd, though, that Apple wouldn't have an API that allows locking app functionally behind licenses; on Android [1], > With Google Play Licensing, your application can query Google Play at run time to obtain the licensing status for the current user, then allow or disallow further use as appropriate. > ... > Note: The Google Play Licensing service is primarily intended for paid applications that wish to verify that the current user did in fact pay for the application on Google Play. However, any application (including free apps) may use the licensing service to initiate the download of an APK expansion file. In other words, the licensing service checks for both IAPs as well as if you've paid for the app itself. [1]: https://developer.android.com/google/play/licensing https://developer.android.com/google/play/licensing

nvahalik 6y ago
> that Apple wouldn't have an API that allows locking app functionally behind licenses; This is what their subscription system does, though. I'm not familiar with their for-pay app setup, but for subscriptions you can monitor the receipt and see what it's status is. Perhaps you can't do it from there, but I know when even an free app is installed, you still get receipt information written to the device.
nyuszika7h 6y ago
It seems odd, though, that Apple wouldn't have an API that allows locking app functionally behind licenses They do have something like that: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/in-app_purchase/validating_receipts_with_the_app_store https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/in-app_pu...

perfectstorm 6y ago

actually they do have the ability to remotely wipe an app https://www.macworld.com/article/1134930/iphone_killswitch.html https://www.macworld.com/article/1134930/iphone_killswitch.h...

pier25 6y ago

Oh but they install apps with certificates that will expire sooner or later.

rand49an 6y ago

They absolutely have the ability to do that though, they clearly have the ability to shut a device down entirely too based on the iOS activation system. I probably wouldn't go as far as 'dystopic' either.

sjwright 6y ago
By that definition, if you want to be realistic about it, every OS vendor with regular software updates has the ability to do anything they like on any device they like.

dathinab 6y ago

They can, just push a Apple update and wups done. They could also make the removal part of the refound process in which case the user would delete the app through the refound process. The idea that this is because it protects users isn't holding up any closer inspection.