Tim Cook Delivers Speech Emphasizing Apple's Opposition to Sideloading

[Expos of 1969]

Here is the thing about that. Yes, it is sad about the whole censorship, but in the end, there certain laws every company has to abide by in every country. People blast Apple due to doing business in China, but last I checked, almost every American company does business there and they all have to follow those same rules & laws.

Very true. Yet what so many Apple fans fail to grasp is other company CEOs do not try to claim that they care so much about privacy like Cook does. He is clearly lying and his actions show that. The number of Apple fans who fall for his BS is astounding.

 

[dguisinger]

Obviously, these people do not live in China or Hong Kong or a country with censorship and human rights abuses.

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or Xbox Game Pass streaming in an app and not the web browser

or alternative web-browsers.... those alternatives you *think* you are getting from the App Store are just Safari wrapped in a different UI. What about letting people really install Edge or Chrome if they want it?

or emulators for things such as DOS or NES

 

[LV426]

It isn't different. Tim has been gaslighting over this the entire time.

Apple's own marketing drivel on Mac OS insists that side loading on Mac is safe.

"Now apps from both the App Store and the internet can be installed worry-free."

macOS - Security

macOS is designed with powerful, advanced technologies that work together to keep your Mac and built-in apps more private and more secure.

www.apple.com

Don't listen to marketing. At least one Apple exec has already stated that macOS is less secure than iOS by dint of allowing third party software installation.

 

[dguisinger]

Very true. Yet what so many Apple fans fail to grasp is other company CEOs do not try to claim that they care so much about privacy like Cook does. He is clearly lying and his actions show that. The number of Apple fans who fall for his BS is astounding.

Actually, if you compare the attitude in this forum today vs a year ago - I would say many people are coming around on this issue. I think the phone scanning sealed the deal.....

The only reason Apple isn't putting their weight behind these features on the Mac is they'd lose the customers they had left on the platform. They would do it if they could, they have to prove to Wallstreet that they can keep doubling their revenue, and what better way to do it than to force rent payments for things they had nothing to do with.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Users are dumb. That's the biggest issue here.

Unfortunate truth here and the useful idiots that are clamoring for sideloading think that a disclosure pop-up is going to prevent users from accidentally or intentionally installing something on their iOS device that will turn it into a massive headache for Apple and everyone else have clearly never heard of the phrase “unintended consequences”. I prefer the walled garden and I prefer those who don’t like Apple’s walled garden to go out, buy an Android phone and to go the f*** away and stay away for good.

 

[dguisinger]

Don't listen to marketing. At least one Apple exec has already stated that macOS is less secure than iOS by dint of allowing third party software installation.

Ah yes, so insecure.... compared to those super secure iPhones that get hacked by malformed text messages and get malware installed without the user ever doing anything.

 

[Wildkraut]

The difference I see is control. In macOS I can go into terminal and adjust any gatekeeping settings I want.

In iOS I can’t do anything, and am stuck with whatever “security” settings Apple gives me. Moreover, my phone sure knows a lot more about me, where I go, and what I do than my workstation that lives on my desk.

Dunno what you do with your workstation, but mine has far more sensitive information than any iOS device i own, e.g. Access to important Databases, Business Financial Stuff, Software Sources and CAD data and its technical specifications that is under NDA, access to customer infrastructure accounts, Online Banking, signed Documents, Emails, etc. Furthermore, iOS syncs everything(locations, contacts, etc.) per default to the iCloud, which ends on your Desktop anyway.

Tim Crooks false statements and excuses serves only to protect Apples profits with anticompetitive practices.

 

[LV426]

Ah yes, so insecure.... compared to those super secure iPhones that get hacked by malformed text messages and get malware installed without the user ever doing anything.

Yes, insecure. The malformed text bug affected Macs too.

 

[BarrettF77]

Yeah Tim, “privacy” is just biggest concern with side loading, not $$$$$. So kind of him.

I’d like to side load a new CEO who is a products guy. Tim Cook disgusts me.

 

[Ronald Reagan]

Agree or disagree, must Apple be forced to allow sideloading? Heavy-handed?

 

[now i see it]

Interesting that Google has no worries about sideloading at all.

 

[jav6454]

Very true. Yet what so many Apple fans fail to grasp is other company CEOs do not try to claim that they care so much about privacy like Cook does. He is clearly lying and his actions show that. The number of Apple fans who fall for his BS is astounding.

I think he doesn't inherently lie on his speech. Yes, although Apple has to make concessions to the CCP to be able to do business in China, Cook has otherwise kept the entire experience elsewhere in the world on-par with his comments.

While is committed to it, he must also be committed to accept policies in countries which do not allow it. Yes, it looks like lying or hypocritical, but it's a job.

Why do you think Apple holds its own against the FBI and even going to court or not allowing a back door. Yes, it could be used as a PR-stunt, but then again, if Apple were only interested in business they would have done the PR-stunt and in secret opened a backdoor. That we know off, that wasn't the case. So yes, I do believe in the privacy speech, but it is recognizable that Apple is a business that must make concessions in the grand scheme of things.

 

[danakin]

"By checking this box, I confirm that I understand that sideloading apps will reduce the privacy and security of my data, and Apple will not be responsible for any privacy leakage"

Sorted

Far too mature a solution for a (sadly) sizeable percentage of posters on this forum.

The answer to all the questions about why Apple (or any other company) is against this is: money.

These points will never change:

1. Apple wants to make as much money as they can from you. They're a for-profit company and very good at making profit. Shareholder return is paramount in all their decisions; yes, even the privacy and environmental ones.
2. Steve Jobs was not a god. He was equal parts innovator, salesman, and a$$hole - like many people on this planet. He also put on his pants one leg at a time.
3. Apple will reverse course if they think they can make more money, shocking I know. For example going from "what happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone" to local scanning for CSAM. It's all about selling more units at a higher average retail price.

 

[jav6454]

Interesting that Google has no worries about sideloading at all.

That's because on the grand scheme of things, they are a data mining company. There is always a way for them to claim your data.

 

[Wildkraut]

It's not sorted at all, it won't prevent all the ignorant people from launching lawsuits against Apple for not protecting them.

And it's also unclear WHY I'd want sideloading on my phone? What for? Do I hate all the vetting Apple does on those apps? NOPE. Why do you think Android has 50 times more malware? App Store works just fine, I don't need anything else, thanks.

One of the first things I would install is something like a Little Snitch Mobile version firewall to stop Apple and Apps from collecting data behind the curtains. Then install a legit Firefox with uBlock Origin to get rid of that Webkit Safari crap and block Ads successfully.

If you don’t need it, fine, just stay in the AppStore, it won’t go nowhere.

Sideloading(a by Apple invented negative expression for normally installing software) won’t make the AppStore disappear, i will coexist like on the Mac.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Interesting that Google has no worries about sideloading at all.

Yeah, because Google doesn’t make its money from the hardware sold using its operating system, nor the Play Store or the hardware. Besides, sideloading gets them all the data about you they could ever want and that’s where they still make their money.

 

[BGPL]

Tim Cook is a liar and a greedy capitalist. He's no different than Donald Trump, whom he seems to despise.

 

[mrat93]

I am only getting my apps from the App Store. Don't ever want to chance messing up my world, because
people are jealous of Apple making money by providing a service.

Do you exclusively use iOS and not Android, Windows, or Mac?

 

[mrat93]

Yeah, because Google doesn’t make its money from the hardware sold using its operating system, nor the Play Store or the hardware. Besides, sideloading gets them all the data about you they could ever want and that’s where they still make their money.

It’s comments like this that reassure me “ok, nobody here knows what they’re talking about.”

Seriously, where did you come up with this? Did you read it somewhere or are you just saying words?

 

[mrat93]

Tim Cook is a liar and a greedy capitalist. He's no different than Donald Trump, whom he seems to despise.

Not sure about “no different” but I get it. Tim’s selective silence and some business choices are counterintuitive to what he claims to support.

 

[SpotOnT]

Dunno what you do with your workstation, but mine has far more sensitive information than any iOS device i own, e.g. Access to important Databases, Business Financial Stuff, Software Sources and CAD data and its technical specifications that is under NDA, access to customer infrastructure accounts, Online Banking, signed Documents, Emails, etc. Furthermore, iOS syncs everything(locations, contacts, etc.) per default to the iCloud, which ends on your Desktop anyway.

Tim Crooks false statements and excuses serves only to protect Apples profits with anticompetitive practices.

I think we are talking about different things here. As far as I know, companies aren’t trying to access or data mine the contents of your personal documents.

In fact, there are federal laws against someone else trying to read/access your personal documents and databases stored on your device. Hence, such activity is mostly limited to criminal hacking and government sponsored espionage.

But I assume you know this, and know exactly what people on this thread are concerned about. Not sure why you feel the need to make such a false comparison/argument.

 

[jav6454]

It’s comments like this that reassure me “ok, nobody here knows what they’re talking about.”

Seriously, where did you come up with this? Did you read it somewhere or are you just saying words?

Do you? While Google has followed (in a sense) in the steps of Apple with the whole "Do Not Track" feature, they make money off the ads they sell. While it is true that Play Store apps have to adhere to that rule, any side-loaded apps do not.

Google knows this and that's why they allow it. Hence there is always a way for them to make money. Any decision a company makes is always money generating oriented, rarely (if ever) a customer.

 

[Wildkraut]

I’d like to side load a new CEO who is a products guy. Tim Cook disgusts me.

I would prefer to slide tackle in a new CEO.

 

[mrat93]

Yeah people seem to think that this will automatically make it like a jailbreak, where its wide open down to the kernel.
It most certainly does not.

They can still do developer signatures like they allow on MacOS.

Yeah, this is the biggest misunderstanding I see.

Apple already has sideloading — you just need to pay $100/year or use AltServer or something similar to refresh the certificates every week. If Apple simply made all dev accounts free, it would essentially enable sideloading to the masses.

 

[jav6454]

Yeah, this is the biggest misunderstanding I see.

Apple already has sideloading — you just need to pay $100/year or use AltServer or something similar to refresh the certificates every week. If Apple simply made all dev accounts free, it would essentially enable sideloading to the masses.

Usually, apps do not do that and developers do not go for that... usually. As we know, there are several types of apps that do as advertised and others that don't.

Those that don't while they don't directly target a kernel, can be made too if a situation arises that the need is there. Not saying it's an easy task, but the ability to do so is opened up as sideloading provides no safeguards; people can be fooled into downloading a dangerous app. Not saying that Apple's app review process is perfect.