“Apple Inc said on Thursday that it had removed ‘a few’ applications from its App Store, expressing its concern that the security of some users’ personal data could be compromised in certain circumstances,” Julia Love reports for Reuters.
“The company said the apps threatened users’ security by installing certificates that can expose data to monitoring by third parties,” Love reports. “The company did not specify the precise number of apps at issue.”
Love reports, “Among the apps removed was Been Choice, which has attracted attention for its ability to block advertising in apps.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Been Choice has responded on to iMore’s Rene Ritchie via Twitter, saying they’re updating the app to comply with Apple’s policy:
“We will remove ad blocking for FB, Google, Yahoo, Yahoo Fin., and Pinterest and resubmit tomorrow, to comply.” – Been Choice developer via Twitter
SEE ALSO:
Apple approves first adblocker that works within mobile apps – October 6, 2015
Okay Big Brother Apple, you’re starting to get in people’s ways. No one wants ads. Adblock+ is already used by plenty of people, even though lately its not worked so well, which is why I have purify. You started the whole adblocking thing, Apple. Now let it take its toll.
Sent from my iPhone
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okay dude – get a grip – BIG BROTHER – Wow! Really?
Sandy Balls.
They have.
Just saying.
It’s about certificates and the ability of third parties to snoop mid stream. Not big brother at all.
“We will remove ad blocking for FB, Google, Yahoo, Yahoo Fin., and Pinterest and resubmit tomorrow, to comply.”
Um, what?! Of course that sentence makes my hair stand on end. What that has to do with certificates that can expose data to monitoring by third parties I cannot imagine.
But we’ll no doubt learn more about it. My best guess is that some ad blockers were using a root certificate to monitor what’s coming into the iOS devices via the Internet. Using root certificates is a bad idea. The fact that they are regularly abused has been a buzz factor in the computer security community this past month.