46 votes

Apple blocks Facebook from running its internal iOS apps

16 comments

  1. [7]
    Deimos
    Link
    This is in response to this story from yesterday. I'm glad that Apple took action related to it so quickly, interested to see what happens now.

    This is in response to this story from yesterday. I'm glad that Apple took action related to it so quickly, interested to see what happens now.

    20 votes
    1. [6]
      frickindeal
      Link Parent
      I know it's naïve, but I still feel like Apple is about the only major tech company who seems to have any care for its user base's privacy. They responded extremely quickly to the FaceTime bug...

      I know it's naïve, but I still feel like Apple is about the only major tech company who seems to have any care for its user base's privacy. They responded extremely quickly to the FaceTime bug that allowed audio to be heard before the call is answered (and it took a strange convolution of actions on the user's part to recreate that bug). They deactivated group FT almost immediately, rendering the bug harmless until they can patch it, which they'll do probably within a week.

      I hate to trust any of these tech giants, but Apple gets a tiny bit of my trust.

      22 votes
      1. [3]
        what
        Link Parent
        I'd generally agree - I'd say in terms of stock hardware and software, iPhones are among, if not the, most private & secure mainstream smartphones out there. I don't know enough about hardware to...

        I'd generally agree - I'd say in terms of stock hardware and software, iPhones are among, if not the, most private & secure mainstream smartphones out there.

        I don't know enough about hardware to have a good opinion on this, but in terms of software, I think the more locked down OS helps a lot in keeping your data safe. Of course, I'd say that a modded Android phone, with projects like Lineage OS, microG, etc, is even better for user privacy, but the large majority of people don't want to or aren't technically skilled enough to mod their phones.

        ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just a thought. I'm not a huge fan of Apple, they have some terrible practices for consumers, but it's nice to see at least one large smartphone manufacturer putting any kind of effort into privacy and security.

        10 votes
        1. [2]
          unknown user
          Link Parent
          If you'd like to know more about iOS's hardware security, & more about Apple's privacy stances, you may enjoy these :) iOS 12.1 Security Guide [PDF] macOS Security Overview [PDF] Differential...

          If you'd like to know more about iOS's hardware security, & more about Apple's privacy stances, you may enjoy these :)

          It's no secret here that I am a huge Apple nerd, but I do believe—pragmatically—iOS devices offer the best data security & user privacy available to consumers today by a wide margin. They really do publish an insane amount of documentation relating to their procedures, systems, & security checks.

          It may be possible to self-configure an Android phone to a high level of security with enough input (I'd still be extremely skeptical about hardware chain of trust, especially when dealing with a company like Qualcomm), but five 9's of consumers don't have the requisite knowledge or skills to do this; which makes iPhone the obvious choice.

          8 votes
          1. frickindeal
            Link Parent
            I'm not who you replied to, but thanks for that. Those are very interesting. Gives me a tiny bit of justification for my trust in Apple.

            I'm not who you replied to, but thanks for that. Those are very interesting. Gives me a tiny bit of justification for my trust in Apple.

            3 votes
      2. Maven
        Link Parent
        There was also that phone thing a few years back.

        There was also that phone thing a few years back.

        2 votes
      3. Flargus
        Link Parent
        imo it's mostly to do with image management, which isn't inherently a bad thing. If Apple(tm) or an Apple(tm) device(c) is related to a story, that's a black smudge on the shiny purgatory-white...

        imo it's mostly to do with image management, which isn't inherently a bad thing. If Apple(tm) or an Apple(tm) device(c) is related to a story, that's a black smudge on the shiny purgatory-white reputation it's worked so hard to build. After all, if apple weren't so careful, how could it justify its luxury status?

        1 vote
  2. Deimos
    Link
    Some relevant tweets from Mike Isaac (NYT tech reporter): https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/1090645258675793926 Includes a statement from Apple, as well as fun stuff like:

    Some relevant tweets from Mike Isaac (NYT tech reporter): https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/1090645258675793926

    Includes a statement from Apple, as well as fun stuff like:

    Psst: thousands of Facebook employees use unreleased builds of FB apps on iPhones internally for all sorts of functions. correct me if wrong but i believe those are all essentially....bricked now? which would be a huge pain in the ass

    they rely on this stuff for things as simple as taking the bus

    congrats Facebook Research for invoking the ire of all your colleagues stuck at the shuttle stop this morning

    19 votes
  3. [3]
    mondieu
    Link
    Super anecdotal, but in the past, I've had more than a few instances where I really had to pause and consider where FB had retrieved the info that they had. I no longer really use them other than...

    Super anecdotal, but in the past, I've had more than a few instances where I really had to pause and consider where FB had retrieved the info that they had. I no longer really use them other than to forward friends to other messaging services as needed - may be time to fully delete the account (as much as that's possible)

    5 votes
    1. [2]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      You may not even be able to figure out how Facebook knows certain things about you, because they've historically purchased a lot of data about people from outside data brokers as well. That can...

      You may not even be able to figure out how Facebook knows certain things about you, because they've historically purchased a lot of data about people from outside data brokers as well. That can give them access to information like purchases you make on credit cards, even if it didn't go through Facebook (or even the internet) at all.

      13 votes
      1. frickindeal
        Link Parent
        Damn that's scary. It seems the only way to be somewhat private these days is to live off the grid.

        Damn that's scary. It seems the only way to be somewhat private these days is to live off the grid.

        4 votes
  4. [5]
    Deimos
    Link
    Mike Isaac says that Facebook's enterprise certificate has now been restored: https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/1091103868463636481

    Mike Isaac says that Facebook's enterprise certificate has now been restored: https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/1091103868463636481

    5 votes
    1. unknown user
      Link Parent
      Disappointing that it's been restored so soon; this appears more as a shot across the bow than any manifestation of punishment. If this had been a small developer abusing this privilege, it...

      Disappointing that it's been restored so soon; this appears more as a shot across the bow than any manifestation of punishment. If this had been a small developer abusing this privilege, it wouldn't just have been their certificate that had been wiped.

      7 votes
    2. [3]
      shiruken
      Link Parent
      Apple has suspended Google's enterprise certificate as well after it was revealed they were doing the same thing.
      4 votes
      1. [2]
        Deimos
        Link Parent
        Yep, I submitted that article here: https://tildes.net/~tech/a1d/apple_blocks_google_from_running_its_internal_ios_apps I expect Google will probably get theirs reinstated fairly quickly too though.

        Yep, I submitted that article here: https://tildes.net/~tech/a1d/apple_blocks_google_from_running_its_internal_ios_apps

        I expect Google will probably get theirs reinstated fairly quickly too though.

        3 votes
        1. shiruken
          Link Parent
          Already restored:

          Already restored:

          Update 1/31: 10:30PM ET: Updated with the news that Apple has restored functionality to Google’s apps.

          3 votes