Apple Tries to Stop Developers From Sharing Data on Users’ Friends

Sarah Frier and Mark Gurman, reporting for Bloomberg:

As Apple’s annual developer conference got underway on June 4, the Cupertino, California-based company made many new pronouncements on stage, including new controls that limit tracking of web browsing. But the phone maker didn’t publicly mention updated App Store Review Guidelines that now bar developers from making databases of address book information they gather from iPhone users. Sharing and selling that database with third parties is also now forbidden. And an app can’t get a user’s contact list, say it’s being used for one thing, and then use it for something else — unless the developer gets consent again. Anyone caught breaking the rules may be banned.

Hard to disagree with this policy change, but I’m not sure how Apple can police it. Boobytrap accounts?

★ Wednesday, 13 June 2018