MyAppleMenu

The Only-a-Delay Edition Friday, September 4, 2020

Facebook Complains, Apple Responds: iOS 14’s Big Privacy Change Gets Postponed, by Samuel Axon, Ars Technica

The feature, announced at Apple's annual developer conference in June, would require app developers to notify a user of an app's intent to track the user's IDFA (ID for Advertisers). IDFA is used to track the user's behavior across multiple apps and deliver targeted ads based on that behavior. The change would also require the user to opt in to that tracking.

Apple now says that, while developers will be able to implement this notification and request for permission, doing so will no longer be mandatory when iOS 14 launches sometime in the next couple of months. However, Apple was careful to clarify that it still intends to establish the requirement in the future, and that this is only a delay "to give developers time to make necessary changes."

Online Privacy Should Be Modeled On Real-World Privacy, by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

The tracking industry is correct that iOS 14 users are going to overwhelmingly deny permission to track them. That’s not because Apple’s permission dialog is unnecessary scaring them — it’s because Apple’s permission dialog is accurately explaining what is going on in plain language, and it is repulsive.

Apple Shares Humorous Privacy-Focused iPhone Ad Where People Overshare Personal Info With Strangers, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

Apple today shared a humorous new privacy-focused iPhone ad in which people awkwardly overshare their personal information with strangers, such as their credit card number, login details, and web browsing history.

Developer Relationships

Apple App Store Draws New Scrutiny In Japan, Epicenter Of Gaming, by Takashi Mochizuki, Bloomberg

Developers complain that titles waiting for App Store review sometimes take weeks to be cleared. One local games studio said it gave up hosting seasonal in-game events, which can be a big revenue accelerator, because Apple didn’t respond to their update review request for more than a month.

[...]

Developers complain that titles waiting for App Store review sometimes take weeks to be cleared. One local games studio said it gave up hosting seasonal in-game events, which can be a big revenue accelerator, because Apple didn’t respond to their update review request for more than a month.

Human Rights vs Local Laws

Apple Commits To Freedom Of Speech After Criticism Of China Censorship, by Patrick McGee, Financial Times

Apple has for the first time published a human rights policy that commits to respecting “freedom of information and expression”, following years of criticism that it bows to demands from Beijing and carries out censorship in China, Tibet, East Turkestan and Hong Kong.

[...]

The four-page document, cited here for the first time, tries to walk a fine line between upholding human rights while conceding that Apple is “required to comply with local laws” in authoritarian countries.

Coming Soon

The New Fitness App In iOS 14, by Alex Guyot, MacStories

I like that Apple is still taking the time to rethink old app designs, and I hope to see them continue being unafraid to rethink apps throughout the system. For Fitness in particular, it’s great to see Apple keeping their eye on the ball with improving Apple Watch activity tracking features.

Stuff

Apple Expands Flyover Feature To Amsterdam And More Netherlands Cities, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

Flyover is a built-in feature in Apple Maps that allows users to navigate around a city through 3D buildings instead of standard satellite images. Today the feature is being expanded to Amsterdam, Haarlem, Zandvoort, and other cities in the Netherlands.

Descript: Making Podcast Editing More Like Text Editing, by Jason Snell, Six Colors

This is an app that consumes audio files, generates text transcripts, and then lets you edit audio by editing the text transcriptions. Delete a sentence in the Descript text editor, and that sentence is edited out of the audio.

Review: Button Remote For Apple TV Makes Entertainment Simple Again, by Mike Peterson, AppleInsider

If the included Siri Remote is frustrating or you desire a remote with physical buttons, then the Button Remote is a perfect choice. Customers seeking an alternative remote for elderly family members or those with disabilities that make using a trackpad or tiny remote difficult, then the Button Remote is also a great choice.

Bottom of the Page

I wonder if there are still any MP3 players that will work with macOS nowadays. No more iTunes. No more iSync.

~

Thanks for reading.