Apple has removed a number of apps from the App Store and sent a letter to developers as they clamp down on apps that collect location data. Although Apple has rules in their App Store Review Guidelines about this, they are now enforcing the rules more strictly.
The letter that was sent to affected developers, and cited by Ars Technica tells developers must “remove any code, frameworks, or SDKs that aid location sharing without clear user consent and then resubmit their app for review”.
The pertinent sections of the guidelines from Apple stipulate that location data that is collected can’t be transmitted to third parties without explicit consent and that third parties can only use that data for stated purposes.
As the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes law in the EU in a couple of weeks, many companies have updated their privacy policies or become more stringent in how they enforce them.
I suspect the recent revelations about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have led to many companies taking a closer look at how the data they are engaged in collecting is used and shared. The penalties prescribed in the GDPR have forced companies to take a closer look at their privacy policies and how they are enforced.
It’s just a shame it’s taken new laws to get tech companies to take our privacy more seriously.
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