Cupertino based company Apple on April 28, 2019 clarified that it has removed many of the parental control apps from its App Store platform for the reason that they put the user privacy and security at risk. According to the company the applications were removed were abusing a kind of technology that was intended for the company owned work phones known as Mobile Device Management. It can give an app developer access to information that includes, browser history, user location and even the photos and videos that are taken with the camera.
The statement was made in response to the report by a New York Times Story that had suggested that Apple had pulled the applications for anti-competitive reasons. The report did not go down well with Apple, who published a response on its website, and is another example of how the company has becoming strict in terms of its control of the apps and its safety and security priorities with new accusations from the politicians and rivals that Apple uses its power over the software distribution platform so as to favor its own apps.
Apple in its statement said, “it is incredibly risky—and a clear violation of App Store policies—for a private, consumer-focused app business to install MDM control over a customer’s device.” Most of the apps that were highlighted by Times report had enabled parents limit the amount of time that they and their children spent on their iPhones and Android devices. Two of the developers have filed a complaint with the European Union’s competition office.
Apple continued that contrary to what the The New York Times reported, it is not the matter of competition but is a matter of security. One of the guidelines of Apple’s App Store mentioned that Appls should be APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes and indicate that integration in their app description.
Photo Credits: Slash gear
