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iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

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Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only Apple sells iPhones, so I wouldn’t worry about preinstalled 3rd party apps with root permissions like we see on Android phones.

Only Facebook makes the Facebook app, and I find it extremely easy to imagine a Facebook app that can only be sideloaded, so that Facebook can bypass the restrictions put in place by the App Store. For instance, Apps are currently not allowed to degrade functionality if the user says no to a permissions request (e.g. location tracking).

Perhaps, but what I was emphasizing was that on iPhone such apps will likely not come pre-installed; neither by Apple (vs e.g. Samsung) nor by a carrier because I seriously doubt Apple would allow that.

Instead, what Apple is doing is finding a new balance that appease those who are attacking the legitimacy of the App Store (and its toll booth) while in practice the vast majority of iPhone users will retain their privacy.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple is venturing into advertising Why is this a worry right now and not 12-13 years ago when they started venturing into advertising with iAd?

Because iAd was designed to preserve user privacy? >A new report on Advertising Age has revealed what advertisers think of Apple's arrogance when it comes to its mobile advertising platform and its tight grip on user data. This attitude towards its ad business turns off advertisers and makes them turn elsewhere, perhaps other avenues such as Google, Yahoo, or Facebook that make life a lot easier for them. "One person…

This is the most beautiful thing I've read today. We need many more sulking advertising execs.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand your concern and share some of them. However the solution to overreaching unaccountable private cooperations cannot be to hand all the power to another private unaccountable company. Apple is venturing into advertising and that'll tempt them to weaken privacy protections sooner or later. Additionally their app store rules went far beyond enforcing security and privacy. They gave themselves an advantage a…

> They gave themselves an advantage and removed competitors for commercial reasons. Which competitor has been “removed”? > Regulate tightly what apple/google are allowed to do with their stores (e.g. like a common carrier) So there shouldn’t be any rules are quality controls on what should be allowed? > The elected EU legislative took some points from both approaches AFTER the free market failed to implement a meanin…

The reality is simply that the EU is just not competitive in pretty much any of these industries. I'm actually struggling to think of any industry at all where EU has produced the market leaders.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#245

I'm dreading this. I want privacy hostile companies like Facebook to have to comply with the app store rules and respect system settings relating to privacy. As a user, I'm thrilled when Apple wields its big stick to stop big tech companies from overreaching. Before there was a bit of a compromise, I could use evil apps with some peace of mind that they wouldn't do something egregious. Now I suspect evil apps just wo…

I'm the opposite, as looking at android, where do we see this? All big players are still in the play store, because the average user of those services doesn't want to be bothered going to a website, clicking scary looking buttons to enable third party installs, then manually update their own installed apps. Basically the risk would be someone like TikTok dropping out of the store, but I find that unlikely. Maybe at t…

> I'm the opposite, as looking at android, where do we see this?

fraud. we'll see lots and lots of fraud. a new avenue will be open.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#246
post #109

This has been bugging me for a few minutes, and I'd be keen on hearing thoughts from other hackers. Given sideloading will be available, does this not create a broader attack vector that government agencies may use to access user data?

Thanks to the sandbox, sideloaded apps will have no more access than regular apps. Of course every app will ask for every permission but that's a different problem.

Is the sandbox a requirement by EU or is it apple imposed?

If the latter, I can see the push to provide kernel-space access happening.

Will alternative appstores also be sandboxed and run in user-space?

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#247
post #123

Having the power to choose side load is a net benefit. For those that have any sort of fear, they simply just get apps from the official store. Could and will people be taking advantage of by side loaded apps? The obvious answer is yes, it's a risk that allows for responsibility and freedom.

What happens when the apps which used to be available on the app store get taken down and made sideload-only, like what Epic did with Fortnite on Android?

As dumb as it sounds, I'd buy a second phone for side loading things if I needed to use enough of those apps. Before side loading on my personal phone, I'd want enough real world time to pass to make sure it's not easy to find vulnerabilities that lead to a complete compromise by side loading (they will be found, but it needs to be "zero-click text message for root" levels of rarity).

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#248

I predict that this will probably be irrelevant to the majority of users. There’s no way apple makes side loading easy enough for anyone outside of HN to use.

If the DMA (Digital Markets Act) has any teeth, they'll have to.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#249

I'm dreading this. I want privacy hostile companies like Facebook to have to comply with the app store rules and respect system settings relating to privacy. As a user, I'm thrilled when Apple wields its big stick to stop big tech companies from overreaching. Before there was a bit of a compromise, I could use evil apps with some peace of mind that they wouldn't do something egregious. Now I suspect evil apps just wo…

They're never going to which is why you just need to delete it and never look back. You're the product. As long as you keep coming back, they win.

Re: iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone

#250

So many "Not good. I want [company I trust] to be free to regulate [company I don't trust]" comments here. Even more odd, its sometimes followed by the even stranger argument "If [company I trust] is legally forced to stop restricting its competitors and has to allow me to choose, I may be lured into choosing [company I don't trust]". Sorry, but all this is closer to religion than common sense.

It’s Apple Stockholm syndrome at it’s finest. But you are apt in your religion comparison. Anything the good lord Jobs, or his prophet Cook says or does is law
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