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

Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

511–520 of 734 posts

Re: Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

#511

Post by kube-system »

minsc__and__boo wrote: post #477
kube-system wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not due to Apple’s business model or their own choice. They were forced to hand over iCloud by Chinese regulators.

It is absolutely a choice made by Apple. Google said no to giving their user data to the Chinese government.

Google had the advantage that their service was separable from the physical devices using it.

I doubt you would be arguing that, if Apple bricked basically every iPhone in China, it would be evidence that their "incentives are aligned with their customers".

Re: Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

#512

Post by gt565k »

Lmao, just like all the businesses that build their platform on top of Facebook APIs only to have those APIs closed down, now Facebook will realize what it's like to build your business based on hardware device tracking, only to have manufacturer's like Apple restrict that down.

Buh bye facebook. May you rot in hell.

Re: Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

#513

Post by aaroninsf »

brokencode wrote: post #480
tbrock wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think Apple would bat an eye if Facebook decided to not publish their software on their platform.

I think they would. Facebook products are a huge part of any app ecosystem, and without them, Apple customers would be pissed. Ecosystem concerns aren’t as relevant today, since both Android and iOS have everything you’d want, but in the olden days of Blackberry, Microsoft, and many other mobile operating system vendors trying to compete, they were always seriously hampered by their lack of ecosystem.

I would be delighted to have that sh-t gone from everyone's iPhone,

because it would create an obvious a compelling opportunity for someone to finally break the stranglehold of FB's monopoly.

I miss my friend and family connections, but most people in my community won't go near that ecosystem with a flaming 10' pole any longer, and many friends like me, despair that our loved ones' reaction to e.g. the Social Dilemma and ongoing revelation after revelation of sociopathic corporate amorality is "yes that is sad but I have choice" because "all my friends are only insta" or "my cottage business depends entirely on my pages" etc etc.

I cannot wait for them to go down in flames.

Bring it Apple.

Re: Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

#514

Post by whynaut »

rorykoehler wrote: post #506
sodality2 wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is Apple relies on hardware sales. FB's entire business from the top down is ad money. And source for a billion dollar ad business? That sounds way higher than my initial impression. (And google paying to be the default SE is not advertising imo)

https://9to5mac.com/2019/11/15/apple-ad-revenue/

Well..

> Apple’s most recent earnings report revealed that it earned $12.51B from Services in calendar Q3/fiscal Q4, though there is no breakdown on how much of this comes from ad revenue.

Notice the 'could's:

> Samik Chatterjee argued the company could leverage the millions of users who search its App Store and Safari browser daily to generate the stellar growth seen by Facebook and Google in recent years.

> he launch of Apple TV+, coupled with Apple Inc’s foray into digital services, could help the company increase its income from advertising by more than five fold to $11 billion annually

This article is literally just speculation. Actually, it's quoting someone's speculation.

> The report seems highly speculative…

Re: Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

#516

Post by Wingman4l7 »

coldpie wrote: post #31
yawaworht1978 wrote: post #11

Apple should be applauded for this. Their revenue does not depend on software to clandestinely steal and sell users data. One day, we will look back at history and see facebook similar as to how people view myspace now (junkyard of software). Good on Apple not selling devices with a facebook backdoor in them. I know apple probably has deals with malicious governments regarding data access, but at least they are stand…

Between this privacy fight and the form factor of the iPhone Mini, there's a 90% chance my next phone will be an iPhone after more than a decade on Android. I'm done with this ad-sponsored trash ecosystem.

...so you want to move to an ecosystem where Apple gets to decide what you can and cannot run on your own device?

Having to jailbreak to side-load apps that aren't on an approved storefront is not acceptable.

Re: Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

#517

Post by purpmint008 »

stingraycharles wrote: post #444
rchaud wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what's more likely than any kind of legal injunction is that FB and Apple will come to a "mutual understanding". Maybe Facebook will license Apple Maps (for a princely sum) and make some symbolic compromise on data collection that lets Apple water down the permission dialogs.

I’d argue that Apple executives realize that privacy is one of the unique USPs of Apple compared to their main competitor, since the value exchange between Apple and their customers is simpler (customer pays Apple money, Apple delivers hardware/software). Now that so much news has spread about these privacy additions, Apple selling out will actively hurt this image they have spent a lot of time building. It’s going t…

> (customer pays Apple money, Apple delivers hardware/software).

Pretty soon, this'll turn into: customer has to keep paying Apple because of vendor lock-in.

Re: Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

#518

Post by jb775 »

Nextgrid wrote: post #119
antattack wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple just wants to be exclusive gateway to Apple customers. We are a product to both companies, even if Apple appears the lesser evil.

Apple's incentives appear aligned with their customers. Facebook's are completely opposed.

That's true for the time being, but considering Apple has a stranglehold on the app store and are therefore facing anti-competitive questions, they are maneuvering from an entirely different anchor point.

It's in Apple's short-term best interest to win over public opinion. It not only cools down anti-competitive rhetoric, but it also helps sell phones.

Re: Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

#519

Post by BoorishBears »

User23 wrote: post #455
reedjosh wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say that's a false equivalency. In the Apple case, it's possibly gaining via marketing and driving people to paid apps that Apple gains revenue from. Please don't misread me though--I'm glad Apple is doing this, I just don't think they're heroes for it.

Hero has become something of a joke word these days. It's used to describe acts as mundane as getting out of bed in the morning and going to a salaried job. It's too bad, because it's nice to have a word to describe people of near godlike achievement. Chuck Yeager would be an example of what I consider a bona-fide modern hero. Alexander would be an example from antiquity.

What people consider heroic is a personal choice. I had no issue with someone saying what Apple did isn't heroic, what I was against was the specific reason.

After all, to me Chuck Yeager is less of a hero than someone who helps out at a soup kitchen every weekend. One was doing their job (and a questionable person honestly) and the other is taking their own time to help others.

Re: Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules

#520

Post by jonfw »

bhupy wrote: post #371
jonfw wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can not do business in the US, or I can not do business with iPhone users. My only 'opt out' is to quit doing business in their market. I continue to see similarities here

You're right that it's more of a difference in degree and not kind. That said, the difference in degree is so vast as to be consequential. It's trivially easy to switch phone platforms (in the last 7 years, I've flip flopped between Android and iOS twice). In contrast, it's extremely difficult and disruptive to uproot your life and move countries; and that also presupposes that the destination country is willing to a…

In business terms, however, it's much easier to target consumers of a different country than of a different App Store. Even if you blacklist the top two countries, US and China, you still have a lot of consumers largely in India and Europe to buy your product. If you blacklist two major app stores it's effectively impossible to make money developing apps.

This isn't bad for consumers, it's bad for producers.

Post reply on HN