“Privacy advocates’ concern over what Apple will do with iPhone user data may be overblown, industry experts say,” Olga Kharif reports or BusinessWeek.
“Concern over how Apple and software developers that work with it might use some of that intel surfaced in recent days with reports that the company built in a ‘kill switch’ that lets it disable applications it considers malicious, even after they’ve been downloaded onto a subscriber’s phone,” Kharif reports.
“But for all the unease over the kill switch, concerns over how Apple may use iPhone subscriber data may be misplaced, industry experts say. Apple isn’t alone in monitoring the applications used on its phones. Carriers keep close tabs on what’s being downloaded onto users’ handsets. Mobile software retailer Handango regularly removes offending games and utility applications from its site if they appear to infringe on another company’s copyright. ‘We have to do this all the time,’ says Handango CEO Bill Stone,” Kharif reports.
“Apple can also track the quality of wireless networks its devices use by noting how fast downloads occur. ‘No one’s been able to do that before,’ says Richard Doherty, director of consulting firm Envisioneering Group. ‘That’s the holy grail. By continually monitoring how consumers are using the phone, they are able to be super-responsive to glitches.’ Apple can also push software updates onto phones. Users of some other mobile devices have to seek out software updates themselves,” Kharif reports. “Don’t be surprised if those other manufacturers start following suit.”
More in the full article here.