Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

theinformation.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 110 posts

Re: Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

#11

Post by pwinnski »

t0mbstone wrote: post #4

My wife and I use Life360 every day for giving us notifications whenever we leave work, arrive at home, arrive at our kid's school, etc. We use these tracking notifications for all sorts of things. For example, my wife won't start prepping dinner until she gets the notification that I've left work. I will be very annoyed if Apple's changes break tools like Life360. I opted into the tracking for a reason. I don't need…

What does Life360 provide that Apple's own 'Find My Friends' app does not? That's what my partner and I use to track locations.

Re: Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

#12

Post by pwinnski »

Blinks- wrote: post #3

It seems like a user side configurable app permission such as "allow this application to use PushKit for non VOIP related functions" would take care of this without breaking functionality. However if the author of this article is correct it seems like this is more a jab at Facebook messenger than anything.

If there is a need for an API, then I'd rather that API exist, rather than a VOIP API being used for non-VOIP things.

Re: Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

#13

Post by Daniel_sk »

Blinks- wrote: post #3

It seems like a user side configurable app permission such as "allow this application to use PushKit for non VOIP related functions" would take care of this without breaking functionality. However if the author of this article is correct it seems like this is more a jab at Facebook messenger than anything.

That doesn't work with average users. Basically Android did that - apps started to ask for admin permissions, accessibility features and other dangerous stuff and users just click Allow on anything.

Re: Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

#15

Post by jakear »

cromwellian wrote: post #10
t0mbstone wrote: post #4

My wife and I use Life360 every day for giving us notifications whenever we leave work, arrive at home, arrive at our kid's school, etc. We use these tracking notifications for all sorts of things. For example, my wife won't start prepping dinner until she gets the notification that I've left work. I will be very annoyed if Apple's changes break tools like Life360. I opted into the tracking for a reason. I don't need…

I also used Life360 to geofence my kids and get notifications when they leave school and return home. It actually caught my son running away from school one time, and when the guidance counselor couldn't find him, I was able to locate him outside the school wandering around the streets.

Not a parent, but a recent kid, and I’d hate my parents having that kind of control over me. Though I guess I’d just turn off the phone. Which then makes me even more unreachable than if the tracking had never been instituted in the first place.

Re: Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

#16

Post by psychometry »

cromwellian wrote: post #10
t0mbstone wrote: post #4

My wife and I use Life360 every day for giving us notifications whenever we leave work, arrive at home, arrive at our kid's school, etc. We use these tracking notifications for all sorts of things. For example, my wife won't start prepping dinner until she gets the notification that I've left work. I will be very annoyed if Apple's changes break tools like Life360. I opted into the tracking for a reason. I don't need…

I also used Life360 to geofence my kids and get notifications when they leave school and return home. It actually caught my son running away from school one time, and when the guidance counselor couldn't find him, I was able to locate him outside the school wandering around the streets.

Black Mirror isn't supposed to be an instructional guide...

Re: Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

#17

Post by eridius »

It's pretty weird how the article doesn't even bother to mention that Apple has an official API for doing encrypted notifications, and I really have no idea why these apps are abusing the VOIP stuff instead of using the actual encrypted notification feature. The article quotes someone as claiming APNS isn't reliable, but with zero evidence, and it seems pretty darn reliable for all of the non-encrypted apps using it.

Re: Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

#18

Post by csande17 »

kevin_b_er wrote: post #8

Or Apple could make a better messaging and notification system that's similar to pushkit but without the supposed "sensitive data", or just fork pushkit to have a "low permission" version of it.

They already have: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/usernotifications/...

Re: Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

#19

Post by joecool1029 »

Hm. I think I'm already seeing SMS/VOIP apps show bugs that are trying to comply with the changes. Google Voice app keeps showing last missed call notification every time I open the app. (I have the app set to do calls over circuit switched instead of data). I also noticed there was a recent move on T-Mobile digits to move to data calling in their app on iOS.

It's definitely causing problems now on 12.4.1 because it's a behavior shift that app developers have to get done before 13 drops.

Apple forum thread on behavior: https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/118607

Re: Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

#20

Post by Icathian »

msie wrote: post #9
portmanteaufu wrote: post #2

This article is terrible. The change mentioned in the headline isn't explained until the fifth paragraph and beyond. > Apple’s change involves an API called PushKit, which was originally designed to be used in apps that let people make online phone calls using voice over internet protocol. .... Over time, many apps began using the tool for purposes other than Internet phone calls, including encrypted messaging apps t…

Wow, and to think of all the times I've held myself back colouring within the app guidelines. Meanwhile other app developers are abusing the apis to no end.

Well sure, but on the other hand now all your stuff isn't broken. Give and take, I think.
Post reply on HN