Live data from Hacker News

Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

marco.org

51–60 of 110 posts

Re: Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

#51
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need to at all. I use two separate Apple IDs on my iOS devices. Apple ID accounts are individually configurable for most, if not all iCloud/App Store services.

I cannot even find any guidance from Apple on recommended patterns for which Apple IDs should be shared, which should be individual, and so on. This isn't even a configuration option, it's a hack that happens to work. (And there's no guarantee that Apple won't change their model tomorrow, since they've never given any guidance on what those multiple AppleIDs are supposed to mean.)

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4895

Re: Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

#52
post #15

Hey everybody, Pierre from @sunrise. This is the blog post we've just published to give more context: "Users sometimes ask us why we require the user’s Apple ID and password in Sunrise, instead of using the local Calendar API. That’s a great question to ask, and we understand why users don’t want to share their credentials without context. We’ve thought a lot about that. The two reasons why we are doing this are: - o…

They should have rejected your app until they had an Oauth solution in place. That's the right answer to avoid training Apple users to be fishing targets. Sunrise doesn't have a (known) security problem. Sunrise happened to reveal a glaring problem with Apple's security policies.

It's actually phishing. I bring it up because I see more than one commenter on this page that has it wrong.

Re: Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

#53
post #38
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If no one uses a feature the feature might as well not exist.

Who doesn't use this feature? Single people, that's who. People with families have known about this feature for years. The sales staff at the Apple Stores specifically bring it up.

People may have 1+ device per person and not share them.

Re: Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

#54
post #15

Hey everybody, Pierre from @sunrise. This is the blog post we've just published to give more context: "Users sometimes ask us why we require the user’s Apple ID and password in Sunrise, instead of using the local Calendar API. That’s a great question to ask, and we understand why users don’t want to share their credentials without context. We’ve thought a lot about that. The two reasons why we are doing this are: - o…

We understand our users, they want a unified Sunrise experience everywhere, and so we can’t use a local API for that. Of course you can, but you need to do extra work to store and synchronise calenders.

How many users would understand the calendar integration hiccups because their iPhone didn't have data coverage or was off or ...?

Re: Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

#55

Admittedly, Android does it much better by providing oAuth, an easy way to get the users sign in, and of course APIs for almost all the popular features. And also, for installing $0 apps you don't need any credit card details at all. Even the buttons are different "Install" v/s "Buy".

>> Admittedly, Android does it much better by providing oAuth, an easy way to get the users sign in, and of course APIs for almost all the popular features. First of all this has nothing to do with iOS/Android. This is an app trying to access a web service. Apple needs to provide oath or similar for accessing their iCloud services. >> And also, for installing $0 apps you don't need any credit card details at all. Eve…

You've always been able to use Google Play for free apps without a credit card...

Re: Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

#56

Admittedly, Android does it much better by providing oAuth, an easy way to get the users sign in, and of course APIs for almost all the popular features. And also, for installing $0 apps you don't need any credit card details at all. Even the buttons are different "Install" v/s "Buy".

>> Admittedly, Android does it much better by providing oAuth, an easy way to get the users sign in, and of course APIs for almost all the popular features. First of all this has nothing to do with iOS/Android. This is an app trying to access a web service. Apple needs to provide oath or similar for accessing their iCloud services. >> And also, for installing $0 apps you don't need any credit card details at all. Eve…

That's funny, I just bought a new one and can install things fine without a credit card.

Re: Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

#57
post #15

Hey everybody, Pierre from @sunrise. This is the blog post we've just published to give more context: "Users sometimes ask us why we require the user’s Apple ID and password in Sunrise, instead of using the local Calendar API. That’s a great question to ask, and we understand why users don’t want to share their credentials without context. We’ve thought a lot about that. The two reasons why we are doing this are: - o…

Not to play doomsday profet but: Apple does not want you to be able to use some other application to access data that apple is already having an application for. So expect to be shut down when apple finally realizes what your app is for.

Re: Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

#58
post #43
post #32

Okay, I have a question. AppleID and pw non-withstanding, I have experienced the following. I played Where's my water2 recently and came to the end where you have to pay to get additional levels. No biggie, I did this with the first game as well. But, when I clicked the in app purchase and entered my password I was prompted with a pop saying I needed to answer my 3 security questions next. Of course I hit cancel and…

I had the same request from inside one of Apple's apps. I think Apple just want you to update your security questions. I logged into the AppleID site, appleid.apple.com, and updated the questions there. Relaunched the app and no more questions. I think you get 3 or 4 tries before they lock your account, I had gotten 1 question wrong 2x an didn't want the account locked because of a typo.

That sounds right. Although since I haven't entered my security question directly in that app, I was not asked to update them from any other App.

It just felt weird that a non Apple app suddenly asked for these things. I do use Find my Friends semi regularly in which you also login with your appleid password but so far there was never a message saying I needed to enter my security questions... weird.

Re: Apparently It’s OK For iOS Apps To Ask For Your Apple ID And Password

#60
I wonder if the reason why they are asking for AppleID and password is because that's the only way they found to overcome the iCloud integration problem described back in April/2013

From http://sunrise-product.tumblr.com/post/47802736454/why-doesn...

Why doesn’t Sunrise support iCloud/Exchange yet?

Every other calendar app seems to do it, what’s taking Sunrise so long?

To explain let’s breakdown a calendar app into two parts, the presentation layer and the storage layer. In the stock iOS Calendar app, Calendar is the presentation layer and EventKit is the storage layer, both developed by Apple. Other calendar apps in the App Store also follow this two layer design but only redevelop the presentation layer while continuing to use Apple’s EventKit storage layer. In other words, these apps quite literally take your data and dress it up in a different color. What we do at Sunrise is redevelop both the presentation layer and the storage layer.

You guys are crazy, why bother reinventing EventKit?

The storage layer is responsible for keeping your data in a structured format. If we were to use Apple’s EventKit storage layer, we would have no control over what can be stored and how to store it.

Okay, so what’s wrong with not having control over the storage layer?

The storage layer needs to be revolutionized. Why can’t my calendar store anything besides text? What if I wanted to attach a picture to an event? Better yet, why not a video? What about other rich media that I would want to be included?

Herein lies the problem, the current storage layer isn’t capable of storing anything other than basic data. Not only that, it only stores certain kinds of basic data: titles, descriptions, dates, etc. We want to break these barriers and let you store anything!

Revolutionary features are coming to your calendar. We’re working as fast as we can.

Post reply on HN