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Some reports have indicated that Apple has started enforcing an Apple Store rule about location data more stringently. The 9to5mac reported that the tech giant has already eliminated a number of apps from the App Store that share the location of users to third parties without their knowledge. In the letter forwarded to the affected developers, Apple informed them that their applications didn’t meet with Legal sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 of the App Store Review Guidelines. Those sections state that apps must not transmit location data of a user to third parties without authorization from the user and for unapproved purposes. Apple also informed them that they should remove any code, framework or SDK used for location data collection and third-party sharing before their apps can be listed on the Store again.
The 9to5mac also pointed out that Cupertino has started cracking down on apps that violate its location data rules just before the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation law takes effect on 25th May 2018. Other tech giants are also preparing for its implementation. Facebook, for instance, recently made its privacy policy easier to understand following the Cambridge Analytica scandal and will also ask users to review information on the way the website uses their data. Apple might have also started enforcing those specific sections in its guidelines after high-profile fiascos that involve user location, such as what happened to MoviePass. The subscription-based movie service’s chief once proclaimed the company watches “how you drive from home to the movies.” MoviePass quickly backtracked and ultimately removed the app’s “unused” location features.
