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I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

judiciary.house.gov

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Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#101

Post by gowld »

gundmc wrote: post #70
htk wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The author is grovelling to the point of it being honestly pitiful. The amount of derogatory references to the web and Android also make it really hard for me not to question the motivation behind this letter. Honestly, I interpreted it differently, I saw someone passionate about something, respectfully addressing someone who’s extremely hard to get the attention, and succeeding at it! The problem being discussed i…

It reminded me of Jeff Bezos's infamous question mark emails.

Such a weird phenomenon what when a famous person does an ordinary thing it becomes "FamousPerson's infamous $OrdinaryThing".

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#102

Post by askafriend »

m-p-3 wrote: post #90
askafriend wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the missing alternatives to the App Store on iPhones Get an Android phone and use the Play Store (or any of the 3rd party Android stores). The magic of a smartphone isn't only on iPhone and there's nothing you can do on iPhone that you can't do elsewhere.

Let me know when you find a decent alternative to Hindenburg [1] that work as well and that field reporter might want to actually use on Android. [1]: https://hindenburg.com/products/hindenburg-field-recorder

There are a lot of opinions packed in your description of the app - I'm sure there are apps that meet reasonable bar for replacement.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#104

Post by gowld »

renewiltord wrote: post #32
ROARosen wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The amount of derogatory references to the web and Android also make it really hard for me not to question the motivation behind this letter. The way the letter writer feels a need to keep on praising Apple and their vision and how everything]else is not worth anything make me nauseous.

tl;dr: Only haters and lovers write you. Everyone else is indifferent. You don't care about the haters, only the lovers. Well, that's what makes his letter interesting. There are a hundred and one people who don't like your product. There are all the undecided people and non-promoter users who won't write you about things about your product. And then there are the super-fans. You can win over the undecided and the no…

> haters and lovers

You mean people who drive revenue for you and people who don't. Emotions don't matter.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#105

Post by billjings »

Can we correct the title? 2015 is not the correct date of public publication; this document was published as part of House antitrust discovery, I believe this year, and was private communication before that. Finding the precise date is beyond my brief Googling efforts, though.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#106

Post by canuckintime »

mhafez17 wrote: post #71
surround wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask what your app was/did?

Our company was AppAdvice - we did iOS app recommendation. We were most popular for our detailed curated lists, and looping gameplay videos here: https://appadvice.com/game/collections Basically the idea was we helped you figure out which apps / games you would love and then link you directly to the official App Store to download it

I loved that app! Apple killed your service and the AppStore ‘wish list’ feature and my app discovery/purchasing habits returned back to the web...

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#107

Post by wvenable »

zepto wrote: post #56
vmception wrote: post #45

> I fear App Review is getting too powerful. It's no longer about keeping iDevices safe or protecting the user's best Its amazing that people right here on hackernews, 5 years later, actually think it is about keeping iDevices safe when they see these legislature and regulatory movements against Apple I’m glad to see your email now

I actually think it’s about keeping iDevices safe. However I’m also someone who thinks app recommendation apps are a good thing and should be allowed on the store. I think the author of the PDF is not only trying to provide a valuable service, but is also right in pointing out that there are problems. These things are not mutually exclusive.

Security or freedom, chose one. You can't have both.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#108

Post by billjings »

surround wrote: post #40

Can we get a (2015) tag on the title?

2015 is not the correct tag; this was publically published recently, I believe this year, as part of House antitrust discovery. So the date of authorship, while usually a good guide, would not be helpful to users looking to filter out reposts and other recycled content.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#109

Post by cabaalis »

mhafez17 wrote: post #29

Wow. I am the author of this email. I have no idea how it resurfaced after 5 years, I was only made aware of this when a friend emailed me the HN link. The sad thing is it was not just my company which was targeted, but Apple removed this entire product category. We never knew the real reason why, or if it was bigger than just a random app reviewer trying to apply Apple policy, until May 2019. That's when Bloomberg i…

Did you get a response? It looks like it was forwarded to some very senior people asking for input.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#110

Post by richardwhiuk »

Hamuko wrote: post #58
zepto wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually think it’s about keeping iDevices safe. However I’m also someone who thinks app recommendation apps are a good thing and should be allowed on the store. I think the author of the PDF is not only trying to provide a valuable service, but is also right in pointing out that there are problems. These things are not mutually exclusive.

> I actually think it’s about keeping iDevices safe. How are Hey or xCloud about keeping iDevices safe?

xCloud deliberately avoids the app review process AIUI by allowing it to be an umbrella for any game.
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