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Shutting Down a Service with 500M Requests per Month

danielamitay.com

61–63 of 63 posts

Re: Shutting Down a Service with 500M Requests per Month

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like an incredibly petty way to view it. Apple's not out to get you. In fact, I'm glad they did this. That iHasApp looks creepy as hell, and it pisses me off that other devs were using it to basically spy on me. It reduces my trust in all apps.

To be clear - I have no problem with this service getting shut down, as it's clearly intended to violate the user's privacy. But to say you must use APIs as "prescribed" by Apple is way too broad and subjective. I'm sure the iOS developer Terms of Service forbids this at some level. If not, then update it. Then say you're shutting this down because it violates the TOS.

What would you think of "don't use our APIs in such a way that, if your users found out you had used them that way, they'd want that API removed to force you to stop"? That's essentially what's being discussed here.

Re: Shutting Down a Service with 500M Requests per Month

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very, very skeptical of this. Apps that people have installed tend to be similar apps.

For some subset maybe. But I guarantee you that there is not one other person on Earth that has the same set of apps installed on their phone that I do. The chances of that are astronomically tiny.

You can filter it down even more by reading carrier information which you can access without permissions:

http://iosdevelopertips.com/core-services/carrier-informatio...

Re: Shutting Down a Service with 500M Requests per Month

#63

It's a shame you had to bring this down but it looks like you saw it coming and enjoyed the ride. I think the posts that characterize you as unethical are just not willing to cope with the disillusion that technology is a two sided coin. The information was there and you used it. I commend you on seizing on the opportunity and wish you best of luck in the future.

Sorry, no. Technology is a two sided coin, mostly unable to be ethical or unethical. The people using technology, however, are surely able to fall somewhere in the spectrum. The OP is using this technology for (imo obviously) unethical reasons and is capable of being judged by that decision.

Well I certainly don't disagree that he's capable of being judged. And you're right - it's simply my opinion that what he did was not unethical.
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