Apple defends removing parental control apps after criticism

Apple has defended removing a number of parental control apps from its App Store, saying they breached its rules on privacy and security.
 
The app developers have accused Apple of anti-competitive practices, saying the company actually considered them a threat to its business model.
 
According to a report in The New York Times, Apple has restricted 11 of the 17 most downloaded screen-time and parental control apps in the App Store over the past year.
 
Last June the company unveiled new features to help users control how often they were using their phones. The move came in response to a customer demand that was being met by Apple's competitors, according to The New York Times.
 
Two of these app developers, Qustodio and Kidslox, have now filed a complaint against the company with the European Union's competition office.
 
Another developer, Russian cyber security business Kaspersky Lab, is bringing an anti-trust lawsuit in the US which accuses Apple of forcing it to remove vital features from its own parental control apps.
 
In a statement defending its conduct and explaining the decision to remove these apps, Apple said that they were designed with a technology that "put users' privacy and security at risk".
 
It said: "Over the last year, we became aware that several of these parental control apps were using a highly invasive technology called Mobile Device Management, or MDM.
 
"MDM gives a third party control and access over a device and its most sensitive information including user location, app use, email accounts, camera permissions, and browsing history."
 
The company said MDM technology could allow hackers to bypass the security features of iOS.
 
Unlike the Google Play store for Android, Apple keeps tight control over the apps on the App Store to check they don't interfere with its mobile operating system iOS.
 
"When we found out about these guideline violations, we communicated these violations to the app developers, giving them 30 days to submit an updated app to avoid availability interruption in the App Store.
 
"Several developers released updates to bring their apps in line with these policies. Those that didn't were removed from the App Store," the company said.
 
It denied claims the removals were motivated by an attempt to shut out competitors.
 
"Apple has always supported third-party apps on the App Store that help parents manage their kids' devices," it said.
 
"Contrary to what The New York Times reported over the weekend, this isn't a matter of competition. It's a matter of security."
 
Last week the company's chief executive Tim Cook told a summit that Apple didn't want customers to spend all of their time on its devices.
 
"Apple never wanted to maximise user time, we're not motivated by this by a business point of view," he said.
 
"Every time you pick up the phone, it means you are taking your eyes off the person you are dealing with.
 
"If you are looking at your phone more than you are looking at someone's eyes you are doing the wrong thing."

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