54 MACWORLD MAY 2019
iOSCENTRAL APPLE PLAYS THE PRIVACY CARD“systematically killing the industry” by
crippling apps that mimic Screen Time’s
functionality. They contend that Apple is
taking aim at their apps because they offer
functionality beyond what Apple provides
in Screen Time.
That’s not the case, says Apple. In a
response to a fan’s concern about the
article’s revelations, Apple VP Phil Schiller
explains (go.macworld.com/mbdm) that
Apple recently “became aware that some
parental management apps were using a
technology called Mobile Device
Management or “MDM” and installing an
MDM Profile as a method to limit and control
use of these devices. ...The MDM technology
is not intended to enable a developer to
have access to and control over consumers’
data and devices, but the apps we removed
from the store did just that.”
In a full statement titled ”The facts
about parental control apps,” (go.
macworld.com/prnt) Apple echoes
Schiller’s response but adds more reason
and context. “We recently removed
several parental control apps from the App
Store,” Apple begins, “and we did it for a
simple reason: they put users’ privacy and
security at risk.” The culprit, according to
Apple, is the use of MDM technology.
Apple contends that the use of MDM is
“incredibly risky. ... Beyond the control that
the app itself can exert over the user’s
device, research has shown that MDM
profiles could be used by hackers to gain
access for malicious purposes.”
Neither Apple nor the developers who
used the tech have offered evidence that
any of the MDM apps in question has been
attacked or used in nefarious ways, so
Apple is being proactive in its defense. As
Apple writes, “It’s a matter of security.”
Few solutions available
Screen-time app developers are laying
out a similar argument that Spotify did:
Apple is purposefully limiting parental
control apps for competitive purposes.
Spotify claims (go.macworld.com/sptf) that
Apple withholds Siri support for third-party
streaming services and collects 30 percent
revenue on subscriptions made through
iTunes “to give themselves an unfair
advantage at every turn.”
That doesn’t make as much sense
here, however. While Apple does indeed
offer its own monitoring service in Screen
Time, it’s not a paid service, and it ships
free with every new iPhone, just like Maps,
Notes, Photos, etc. Apple has very little to
gain by crippling or shutting down
competing services. People are still buying
an iPhone, whether they use Screen Time
or some other app to monitor their use. So
I believe Apple when it says that it pulled
the apps in questions due to the potential
for privacy abuses.
However, Apple could make it easier
for developers to offer their own spin on