Apple Forces Developers to Remove Screen Recording Code From iOS Apps

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Yesterday, TechCrunch discovered that multiple popular iPhone apps from major companies are using intrusive analytics services that capture data ranging from taps and swipes to full screen recordings, all without customers knowing about it.


Today, Apple has informed app developers that this kind of screen recording analytics code needs to be clearly disclosed to customers or removed from iOS apps. From an Apple spokesperson's email to TechCrunch:

"Protecting user privacy is paramount in the Apple ecosystem. Our App Store Review Guidelines require that apps request explicit user consent and provide a clear visual indication when recording, logging, or otherwise making a record of user activity."

"We have notified the developers that are in violation of these strict privacy terms and guidelines, and will take immediate action if necessary," the spokesperson added.

At least one developer has already been told to remove the code that recorded app activities. From an email to the developer:

"Your app uses analytics software to collect and send user or device data to a third party without the user's consent. Apps must request explicit user consent and provide a clear visual indication when recording, logging, or otherwise making a record of user activity."

Apple is serious about getting rid of this code and gave the developer in question less than a day to remove it and resubmit the app before it would be pulled from the App Store.

High-profile apps like Abercrombie & Fitch, Hotels.com, Air Canada, Hollister, Expedia, and Singapore Airlines are using Glassbox, a customer experience analytics firm with a "session replay" screen recording feature.

Session replays are designed to let developers screenshot or record or a user's screen and then play back those recordings to see how users interact with their apps. Taps, button pushes, and keyboard entries are all captured and provided to app developers.

None of the apps above disclosed that they were recording a user's screen in their privacy policies, which is apparently in violation of Apple's App Store rules.

Apple also requires apps that record the screen to have a little red icon on the top left corner of the phone to make it clear that the screen is being recorded, and it sounds like Apple is going to enforce this rule for this kind of analytics tracking.

Most likely, apps will need to remove this feature because customers are not going to willingly use an app that's recording everything that they're doing.

There are many other analytics companies that have similar practices like Appsee and UXCam, so there are undoubtedly many more apps that are using these secret screen recording features without customer knowledge.

Tag: App Store

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Apple Hires Obstetrician for Health Team to Bolster Women's Health Efforts

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Apple recently added obstetrician Dr. Christine Curry to its health team, reports CNBC. With this hiring, Apple is said to be looking in to how to bolster its efforts in women's health.

Curry comes to Apple from a stint at Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City, California, which is located not too far from Apple's Cupertino campuses.


Apple employs dozens of doctors at its "AC Wellness clinics" designed for Apple employees. Sources that spoke to CNBC said that while Curry has an interest in women's health, she will be working on "various health issues across the health teams."

When Apple first launched its Health app and HealthKit service, there was no section for reproductive health, but it was later added. There is now a full Reproductive Health section available within the Health app that integrates with period and fertility trackers.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said that he believes Apple's ultimate contribution to mankind will be its improvements to the health field.

Tag: health

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Netflix Launches 'Smart Downloads' for Streamlined Access to Offline Content

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Netflix today announced the launch of a new Smart Downloads feature that's designed to streamline the process of downloading content for offline viewing.

With Smart Downloads, when you finish viewing an episode of a TV show that you've downloaded, Netflix will delete it and then automatically download the next episode. Smart Downloads is designed to download content only when you're connected to Wi-Fi so it's not using your cellular data plan.


Netflix users can choose to use or disable the Smart Downloads feature, which is available on iOS and Androids devices. Turning off Smart Downloads will keep watched content on your device.

On iPhone and iPad, you can tap the Downloads icon, choose "My Downloads" and select "Smart Downloads" to toggle it on or off.

Netflix for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Netflix

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Chrome Unboxed YouTube Channel Membership is Live!

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PSA: Group FaceTime Not Working in iOS 12.2 Beta Because Bug Isn't Fixed Yet

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Apple earlier this week released a new beta of iOS 12.2 to developers and public beta testers, but that beta does not include the same Group FaceTime bug fix that was introduced in today's iOS 12.1.4 update.

Apple's Group FaceTime servers are back online, but because the issue has not been fixed in iOS 12.2, Group FaceTime is not working on beta devices.


We have been testing Group FaceTime since the servers came back online, and while we can get calls to work between multiple people on devices running iOS 12.1.4, calls do not go through on devices running iOS 12.2 beta 2.

Developers and public beta testers will need to wait until the Group FaceTime bug fix is added to the next iOS 12.2 beta before being able to use the feature.

Group FaceTime is also unavailable on devices running iOS 12.1.3 or earlier, and will remain unavailable until the devices are upgraded to iOS 12.1.4. The same goes for Macs that are not running the newly updated macOS 10.14.3 update. Group FaceTime on Mac doesn't work on Macs running the older version of macOS 10.14.3 or the new macOS 10.14.4 beta update.

Related Roundup: iOS 12

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Apple Highlights Depth Control on iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR in New Video

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Apple today uploaded a new video to its YouTube channel that's dedicated to showing off the Depth Control feature available on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.

Entitled "The Backdrop," the video features the Depth Control in action on a shot of a woman taken on a busy street with a lot going on in the background.


Depth Control is used to blur the background out, putting the focus on the woman in the picture.

Introduced on Apple's newest iPhones, Depth Control is a Portrait Mode feature. Once you capture a Portrait Mode image, you can use the Depth Control slider to change the amount of blur in the background.

Apple also recently shared a new video on the Smart HDR feature in the new iPhones. Smart HDR is an automatic feature designed to bring out more detail in highlights and lowlights in iPhone photos.


The video was created as a behind-the-scenes look at the techniques used by Jia Zhangke in his recent short film captured to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Tag: Apple ads

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Apple's iOS 12.1.4 Update Also Fixes Live Photos Vulnerability, FaceTime Bug Reporter to Receive Bounty and Gift Toward Education

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Following the release of iOS 12.1.4, Apple today issued an apology to customers and said that it had found and fixed the Group FaceTime bug and an additional security vulnerability involving Live Photos in the FaceTime app.


From a statement provided to MacRumors:

Today's software update fixes the security bug in Group FaceTime. We again apologize to our customers and we thank them for their patience. In addition to addressing the bug that was reported, our team conducted a thorough security audit of the FaceTime service and made additional updates to both the FaceTime app and server to improve security. This includes a previously unidentified vulnerability in the Live Photos feature of FaceTime. To protect customers who have not yet upgraded to the latest software, we have updated our servers to block the Live Photos feature of FaceTime for older versions of iOS and macOS."

Going forward, Apple says that the Live Photos feature will not be available in FaceTime on older versions of iOS and macOS. Capturing a Live Photo will require iOS 12.1.4 or the new version of macOS 10.14.3. Apple is also restricting Group FaceTime from devices running earlier versions of iOS.

Apple in a security document released this morning outlines the specific fixes that were implemented in iOS 12.1.4 and the macOS 10.14.3 supplemental update.

Apple fixed a logic issue that existed in the handling of Group FaceTime calls with improved state management, and the Group FaceTime testing led to the discovery of the Live Photos issue. Apple says that the Live Photos bug was fixed with "improved validation on the FaceTime server."

Additional Foundation and IOKit bugs were fixed in iOS as well, addressing memory corruption issues that could lead to elevated privileges for applications.

Apple lists Grant Thompson of Catalina Foothills High School as one of the people who discovered the FaceTime bug. Thompson and his mother made multiple attempts to get into contact with Apple to inform the company of the bug well ahead of when it went public. Daven Morris of Arlington, TX is also listed as a person who discovered the vulnerability and reported it to Apple.

Apple has apologized for missing those messages and has vowed to improve its bug reporting system to make sure future bug reports are distributed to the right people. Apple will be compensating the Thompson family for finding and reporting the bug, and Apple will be providing an additional scholarship to be put towards Thompson's education.

Related Roundup: iOS 12

Tags: FaceTime, FaceTime Listening Bug

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