Developers Call Apple Privacy Changes Anti-Competitive

Apple has said upcoming changes to its iPhone operating system will better protect the privacy of users. But a group of app developers recently told Apple some of those changes will hurt their businesses, while accusing the company of anti-competitive behavior in the way it subjects its own software to the new rules.

In an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook last Friday, the leaders of seven app developers outlined their concerns about the company’s new restrictions on location-tracking apps in a forthcoming version of the iOS operating system, according to a copy of the email reviewed by The Information. They accuse Apple of having a “double standard” for how apps can use location data in its new operating system.

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 email.