Apple continues to try to show its commitment to the privacy and security of its users. In recent months it has added the so-called privacy labels of the App Store in which developers must show the permissions that the application will require during its use on the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Now the company does the same and inaugurates a new web page where you can check the permissions of your own applications.
iOS, iPadOS, and macOS app privacy
The announcement of iOS 14 at WWDC 2020 brought with it new privacy measures that developers had to abide by if they wanted to be on the App Store. It was not until December, with the release of iOS 14.4, that the company mandated these privacy labels. Any developer who wants to publish their app or update an existing version, has the obligation to incorporate this data so that the user can be informed if they wish.
These labels contain information such as access to the location, the use of usage data or being able to access other user information. Apple itself already had this information about its apps in the App Store, but now it makes it even more visible on its new privacy website, in which we find absolutely all its native applications from Calendar or Camera to Xcode through other apps such as oxygen measurement on Apple Watch. Everything is compiled on this website.
It stands out that in the case of Apple, one of its main premises is fulfilled, which is not to track the user for advertising purposes. Some of the apps allow the sharing of usage information, but always anonymously and encrypted with the simple aim of improving the user experience and being able to correct possible errors that may arise.
Will the controversy continue with this question?
Despite how positive this functionality seems, which is similar to something Google does in its Android Play Store, it seems that not all developers are happy with the initiative. For Facebook, a company that has precisely been involved in a multitude of privacy scandals, this measure by Apple responds to monopoly practices and in fact it has been seen in a complaint before the courts.
It seemed that Google was also reluctant to these measures when it came to be more than two months without updating apps as popular as Gmail, even warning in it that it did not have the latest security and privacy news. However, the Mountain View company ended up complying with this new Apple regulation and without problem released updates to all its apps.
The case of Facebook will be worth following, since it coincides in time with one of the worst moments of WhatsApp, one of its star apps and that has precisely been put in the spotlight for forcing users to share their data with the Facebook parent app for advertising purposes. Far from being something illegal, it seems at least confusing and inconsistent from a company that criticizes others like Apple for being also unsafe or private. Therefore, it will be necessary to continue pending this case, although it does not seem that in spite of this Apple is going to take a step back in its new privacy measures.
