NEW DELHI: With Apple gearing up to release the next big update for iPhones -- iOS 13 -- some top iOS developers are reportedly angry with Apple over the new iOS version. The issue is around how iOS 13 changes the way developers will be able to use the
iPhone’s user location.
Apple has made several changes related to location tracking by iOS apps. The upcoming iOS 13 public release will allow users to know how iOS apps use location data in the background. The update will also give users the ability to allow location access to apps “just once” instead of background location access. Also, iOS13 will not allow iOS developers to use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi network to guess the user’s location.
While all these steps sound good and surely enhance user privacy, some top developers are protesting because these changes would hurt their app business. These developers have called the iOS 13 changes to be “anti-competitive” and have directly mailed their complaints to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Apart from the business aspect, the developers have also accused Apple of having a “double standard” when it comes to location tracking. The app developers who are protesting the changes are Tile, Arity, Life360, Zenly, Zendrive, Twenty and Happn. These seven app developers have come together to protest against the changes made to how app could use the location data of users.
In the email to Cook, the developers wrote, “As Apple expands into additional services, some of which compete with developers like us, the need for a level playing field becomes ever more critical to allow the ecosystem to flourish,” according to a report by The Information. Another concern is with Apple offering certain features natively that are similar to the ones for which people usually download an app would mean reduced business for developers.
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