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Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

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11–20 of 235 posts

Re: Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

#11

Apple, Google and Microsoft might just stop you as they get a better cut from the multimillion dollar app partners. Or your app might have some libraries that are having security issues.

I'd happily change the libs if there was an issue. I'm not aware of any and Apple hasn't indicated any. I take effort to keep libraries up to date, but certainly don't have everything on latest.

Re: Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

#12
post #2

Some may not agree with the use of parental control/accountability software. That's fine. Truple is not designed for you. There are tons of people who are negatively impacted by technology and they desperately need/want help. They should have the option to get it, and there should be competition in the space to deliver the best product for them. In today's world, using the internet is a part of life, and isn't someth…

The platform is wary of surveillance applications, which often have off-label use as stalking tools. It's not so much about whether people agree with parental controls or not; it's that Apple sets a different standard for intrusive parental control software than it does for other tools, because parental control tools are widely misused.

If that's the problem you're running up against here, and not that you somehow embedded malware/adware into your app that they screen for, I think you might have trouble getting anywhere with this.

Re: Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

#13
I‘m sorry for You. I can see how you‘d think that your software is providing society a service. And yet from my perspective your software is malware. I don’t think you have considered the legal ramifications of your software in all markets where the app store is offered. Aside from the legal risk to You, there is also a reputational risk to Apple, a company trying to rebrand itself by focussing on privacy (CSAM nonwithstanding). Do you have safeguards that can 100% rule out the use of your App as spyware ? I think you should move on with your life.

Re: Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

#15
post #11

Apple, Google and Microsoft might just stop you as they get a better cut from the multimillion dollar app partners. Or your app might have some libraries that are having security issues.

I'd happily change the libs if there was an issue. I'm not aware of any and Apple hasn't indicated any. I take effort to keep libraries up to date, but certainly don't have everything on latest.

Do you embed any monitoring, performance tracking, revenue-generation, advertising, or tracing tools in the app? Did you at any previous time?

(I think it's just as likely that you're pattern-matching against stalker software that Apple screens for, just by dint of what your app does).

Re: Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

#16
post #12
post #2

Some may not agree with the use of parental control/accountability software. That's fine. Truple is not designed for you. There are tons of people who are negatively impacted by technology and they desperately need/want help. They should have the option to get it, and there should be competition in the space to deliver the best product for them. In today's world, using the internet is a part of life, and isn't someth…

The platform is wary of surveillance applications, which often have off-label use as stalking tools. It's not so much about whether people agree with parental controls or not; it's that Apple sets a different standard for intrusive parental control software than it does for other tools, because parental control tools are widely misused. If that's the problem you're running up against here, and not that you somehow em…

Then why do they allow competitors to do it? They should be facing the same issues.

Re: Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

#17
post #13

I‘m sorry for You. I can see how you‘d think that your software is providing society a service. And yet from my perspective your software is malware. I don’t think you have considered the legal ramifications of your software in all markets where the app store is offered. Aside from the legal risk to You, there is also a reputational risk to Apple, a company trying to rebrand itself by focussing on privacy (CSAM nonwi…

It's not malware if it's voluntarily installed and wanted by the end user, provides a persistent notification indicating that monitoring is occurring, etc. These are the requirements Apple/Google have for parental control type apps.

In case you didn't read the full description, Apple is allowing competitors to do the same thing.

I've gone over privacy concerns with lawyers though I appreciate your concern/suggestions.

Re: Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

#18
post #13

I‘m sorry for You. I can see how you‘d think that your software is providing society a service. And yet from my perspective your software is malware. I don’t think you have considered the legal ramifications of your software in all markets where the app store is offered. Aside from the legal risk to You, there is also a reputational risk to Apple, a company trying to rebrand itself by focussing on privacy (CSAM nonwi…

I also don't want Apple approving apps which can essentially take over everything and eliminate all safety or privacy guarantees... but this developer is also saying that Apple has approved competitors of the same nature.

I don't know how accurate the fine details are, but this story in its broad outlines seems very unfair and capricious.

Re: Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

#19
post #13

I‘m sorry for You. I can see how you‘d think that your software is providing society a service. And yet from my perspective your software is malware. I don’t think you have considered the legal ramifications of your software in all markets where the app store is offered. Aside from the legal risk to You, there is also a reputational risk to Apple, a company trying to rebrand itself by focussing on privacy (CSAM nonwi…

> And yet from my perspective your software is malware.

So don't buy/install it. But don't take away that choice from other people. I have a good married friend who uses parental control software on himself to reduce the temptation to look at porn. It basically just gives his wife access to his browsing history. Sure, he could bypass it a number of ways if he was really determined, but it's more about just raising the level of effort required so that impulsive usage is mitigated.

Re: Ask HN: Apple revoked developer account for 2.5 years and counting

#20
post #13

I‘m sorry for You. I can see how you‘d think that your software is providing society a service. And yet from my perspective your software is malware. I don’t think you have considered the legal ramifications of your software in all markets where the app store is offered. Aside from the legal risk to You, there is also a reputational risk to Apple, a company trying to rebrand itself by focussing on privacy (CSAM nonwi…

I also don't want Apple approving apps which can essentially take over everything and eliminate all safety or privacy guarantees... but this developer is also saying that Apple has approved competitors of the same nature. I don't know how accurate the fine details are, but this story in its broad outlines seems very unfair and capricious.

Competitors are allowed to capture screenshots randomly and send those screenshots to someone. The details are very similar. Interestingly enough, competitors don't end-to-end encrypt the data. Only I do that.

If there was some little tweak that was super important to Apple, I'd hope they'd let me know about it instead of being silent though. I'm willing to adjust based on their feedback, but they say nothing.

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