3 ms·

Meta (and to some extent Google) are going to have to be careful, as the obvious temptation for them is to open their own app delivery mechanism which is far mo

Meta (and to some extent Google) are going to have to be careful, as the obvious temptation for them is to open their own app delivery mechanism which is far more liberal with data collection and permissions. In the Google case they could probably technical deliver a Play Store for iOS complete with delivering a massive subset of Android apps in an emulated environment. The problem is just how sticky their apps prove to be once outside the trusted confines of the App Store, and so I wouldn't be surprised if more things stay within the walled garden than we expect. The other massive question is who will be allowed to run the stores. If you've uploaded an app in the last few years the big change is the number of assertions you have to make about UAC and news content (or lack of) has exploded. It will be curious if the EU end up releasing forces which create widespread new less American filtered media distribution.

willio58 3y ago
While more iOS "appstores" will exist in the coming years, does that really mean those apps will be able to circumvent privacy-related requirements that Apple has set? For example let's take the camera. You have to give an app permission to use your camera. Will another appstore's app just be able to circumvent that? I doubt it. If my assumption isn't the case I'd love to know though!
- vineyardmike 3y ago
  The question with this mostly comes down to the EU - do they consider this cohesion or punishment on apples part. Sure it’s easy to say camera security is good, but where does it end… can Apple gate every feature? What about new features? Will Apple open up the settings app to third party apps - will they even be able to be managed centrally?
- heisenzombie 3y ago
  Many of the privacy/security/data restrictions that Apple imposes on apps are not and can not be enforced by technical means (e.g. just gating APIs behind system-level permission dialogs). They require some combination of manual review, automated code analysis, and just plain old attestations made by the developer (e.g. "we will not sell any of your data or use it for advertising") where the recourse is kicking a developer off the store if they are lying.

willio58 3y ago

While more iOS "appstores" will exist in the coming years, does that really mean those apps will be able to circumvent privacy-related requirements that Apple has set? For example let's take the camera. You have to give an app permission to use your camera. Will another appstore's app just be able to circumvent that? I doubt it. If my assumption isn't the case I'd love to know though!

vineyardmike 3y ago
The question with this mostly comes down to the EU - do they consider this cohesion or punishment on apples part. Sure it’s easy to say camera security is good, but where does it end… can Apple gate every feature? What about new features? Will Apple open up the settings app to third party apps - will they even be able to be managed centrally?
heisenzombie 3y ago
Many of the privacy/security/data restrictions that Apple imposes on apps are not and can not be enforced by technical means (e.g. just gating APIs behind system-level permission dialogs). They require some combination of manual review, automated code analysis, and just plain old attestations made by the developer (e.g. "we will not sell any of your data or use it for advertising") where the recourse is kicking a developer off the store if they are lying.