APPLE has pulled a series of apps from its App Store designed to help users tackle iPhone addiction. The apps track the amount of time you spend on your blower to help you stop gawping at it, and are a direct rival to Apple’s Screen Time tool, which launched last year. The move has been […]
APPLE has pulled a series of apps from its App Store designed to help users tackle iPhone addiction.
The apps track the amount of time you spend on your blower to help you stop gawping at it, and are a direct rival to Apple’s Screen Time tool, which launched last year.
The move has been lambasted online as as a crude attempt to quash competition, but Apple has defended its decision.
It says the apps were “unsecure” and did not meet the App Store’s strict developer guidelines.
The news comes from a recent New York Times investigation.
It claims Apple has made it deliberately difficult to run habit-tracking apps on the App Store following the release of Screen Time last summer.
“Over the past year, Apple has removed or restricted at least 11 of the 17 most downloaded screen-time and parental-control apps”, the report reads.
“Some app makers with thousands of paying customers have shut down. Most others say their futures are in jeopardy.”
Apps affected include OurPact and Freedom, each of which had been downloaded to hundreds of thousands of iPhones before they were pulled.
When speaking with to their developers, the Times noted that “executives at the app makers believe they are being targeted because their apps could hurt Apple’s business. Apple’s tools, they add, aren’t as aggressive about limiting screen time and don’t provide as many options.
According to Apple, the apps in question were blocked because they were fundamentally unsecure for their users.
Apple’s vice president of marketing, Phil Schiller, said this was because they utilised MDM (Mobile Device Management) to track every user action on their iPhone.
The tool was designed to help companies who want to install their own software on employee devices to see how they’re used.
Schiller said developers of monitoring apps using MDM “have unrestricted access to manage your child’s device, know their location, track their app use, control their mail accounts, web surfing, camera use, network access, and even remotely erase their devices”.
Deeming this unacceptable, Apple warned developers to stop using MDM, or they would be removed from the App Store. Those that did not comply were blocked.
Last year, Apple introduced Screen Time, which is built in to iPhones and iPads and allows users set time on app usage and monitor their gadget use, as well as that of their children.
The report said many app makers believe they had been targeted because their apps rival Apple’s own features and could harm the firm’s business.
In response, Apple reiterated that it pulled the apps due to security concerns.
“Apple has always supported third-party apps on the App Store that help parents manage their kids’ devices. Contrary to what the New York Times reported over the weekend, this isn’t a matter of competition, it’s a matter of security,” a company statement said.
“In this app category, and in every category, we are committed to providing a competitive, innovative app ecosystem.
“There are many tremendously successful apps that offer functions and services similar to Apple’s in categories like messaging, maps, email, music, web browsers, photos, note-taking apps, contact managers and payment systems, just to name a few.
“We are committed to offering a place for these apps to thrive as they improve the user experience for everyone.”
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