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Apple: Apps should not require users to opt into tracking to access content

developer.apple.com

81–90 of 274 posts

Re: Apple: Apps should not require users to opt into tracking to access content

#81

Thats a good thing. Can Apple guarantee that they themselves are not tracking their users' app preferences/behaviour either?

There's a fairly simple cui bono aspect to this. Apple makes money by selling products to their users or taking a cut of the users' purchases in their marketplace. Facebook and Google, on the other hand, make most of their money by selling micro-segmented access to their user base to third parties. Which of these two kinds of companies stands to benefit from harvesting more data about their users whenever possible?

Apple profits from knowing their users' app/music/news/books/siri etc preferences and making purchase suggestions, don't they?

Re: Apple: Apps should not require users to opt into tracking to access content

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> watch videos So games that periodically stop to show a full screen ad and don't resume until the user closes the ad are in violation?

Is this for paid games? I imagine this would not apply to freemium games.

As soon as I start using an app in a regular bases and I notice they stop me too many times to watch videos or look to timed ads, I check if they have a paid version. So this is a good solution and a good compromise for paid. For free apps, I get it because developers need to make money.

Re: Apple: Apps should not require users to opt into tracking to access content

#83
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would you actually be buying, if you bought the software without being legally capable of using it?

You've bought the privilege of being allowed to accept the EULA.

It reminds me of a US visa, which is far from free, and you pay for applying whether you is granted it or not. It allows you travel to a border control and ask to be let in. They can refuse you without explanation.

Re: Apple: Apps should not require users to opt into tracking to access content

#84
Would this also apply to forcing users to enable location for content that only partially requires it? In particular, Snapchat has some location-based filters, but even the ones that don't require location (purely cosmetic, rewind, slow-mo, etc filters) are disabled.

Re: Apple: Apps should not require users to opt into tracking to access content

#87
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they do. On the Mac, at least for the longest time, they put a sticker on the shrink wrap for the device that said something to the effect of "By using this device, you agree to the terms of Software License Agreement found at apple.com/legal/sla". Of course, if you didn't agree with that you could return the device or install Windows/Linux, but on the iPhone (which won't activate without agreeing), you can't si…

Iirc, those shrink wrap licenses are of questionable enforceability. The Wikipedia entry on "shrink wrap contract" agrees, but I'm not well-versed on the topic.

Do you think you can fight this out in court against Apple?

Re: Apple: Apps should not require users to opt into tracking to access content

#88
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With a user controlled Android phone, you can just feed apps you don't trust fake location data. But now Google has started restricting user-owned Android to a fixed number of flashes or something, or they get locked out of Google Play Services.

Can't tell if this is a serious reply.

https://www.xda-developers.com/fake-android-location/

https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-fix-device-not-certifi...

Re: Apple: Apps should not require users to opt into tracking to access content

#89
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Iirc, those shrink wrap licenses are of questionable enforceability. The Wikipedia entry on "shrink wrap contract" agrees, but I'm not well-versed on the topic.

Do you think you can fight this out in court against Apple?

Are individuals taken to court over it for "misusing" their Macbooks?

Re: Apple: Apps should not require users to opt into tracking to access content

#90
post #31
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't Apple track every app you install, access and run? Track you if you want to develop your own code for your own fully paid for device?

> Doesn't Apple track every app you install, access and run? Do you have a source on the them tracking every app a user runs? Obviously they have to collect every app I install for updates and subscriptions, but collecting every run might be too much.

They advertise a whole product which draws all this tracking data as nice graphs to developers: https://developer.apple.com/app-store-connect/analytics/

It's essentially Google Analytics, just for apps on iOS.

Where do you think those "Daily active devices" data comes from?

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