iOS 13 introduces a number of changes for how developers are able to use user locations. Now, a group of app developers have joined forces to call the changes anti-competitive, and are taking their complaints directly to Tim Cook.
As detailed in a new report from The Information, developers say that the new location changes in iOS 13 will hurt their businesses. They also accuse Apple of being anticompetitive and having a “double standard” when it comes to the ability applications have to use location data.
A group developers have come together to email Tim Cook about the changes:
The developers who emailed Tim Cook about the location changes include:
Apple’s growing efforts to create new internet services of its own create a duty to treat outside developers fairly, they wrote. “As Apple expands into additional services, some of which compete with developers like us, the need for a level playing field becomes ever more critical to allow the ecosystem to flourish,” they wrote in the e-mail.
- Tile
- Arity
- Life360
- Zenly
- Zendrive
- Twenty
- Happn
iOS 13 makes several changes to location data and permissions, including showing users a detailed view of how applications have been using location data in the background. iOS 13 also includes a new option to allow applications access to location “just once,” as opposed to having to give constant access when using an app or continuous background access.
Furthermore, iOS 13 cracks down on developers using Bluetooth and WiFi network details to estimate a user’s location.
