Apple retroactively removing apps from your iphone/ipod touch when they are removed from the App Store

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Edward Rustin [ed.well.com () googlemail com] On Behalf Of Edward S. Rustin [ed () well com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 5:37 PM
To: David Farber
Subject: Re: [IP] Apple retroactively removing apps from your iphone/ipod touch when they are removed from the App Store

If you read the comments on the linked site, it looks like Netshare
was removed as result of a bug, rather than it being yanked off of
peoples devices by Apple.

It seems as though the author of the piece had bought it form the App
Store from his iPhone, and then the app was pulled before it was
synced with iTunes. Since iTunes couldn't download the app, it was
removed from the iPhone as well.

As the author says in one of the comments:

"Frank, I’m starting to think it was a timing issue. I bought the app
Saturday on my iPhone. I didn’t attempt to sync my iPhone until Sunday
AFTER the app was removed from the store. Which means it was never on
my computer. iTunes may be doing a check to make sure that there are
no rouge apps installed (in other words apps that aren’t currently in
the store) and removing them automatically. So it was likely that this
was a “feature” of iTunes and not an intentional act by Apple. My
money has been refunded, so there is nothing else for me to say."

That would seem to fit with the other comments saying that they'd had
no problems at, and that Netshare was still on their iPhones/Touches
after it was pulled by Apple, and it was still there after syncing
with iTunes.


On 6 Aug 2008, at 21:50, David Farber wrote:

> ________________________________________
> From: Sam Posten [sposten () gmail com]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 4:24 PM
> To: David Farber
> Subject: Apple retroactively removing apps from your iphone/ipod
> touch when they are removed from the App Store
>
> Professor Farber, I have learned of an interesting twist to the
> Apple iPhone App Store that I havent seen discussed widely and I
> think many IP readers may not be aware of, I know I wasnt aware of
> it myself.
>
> According to Terry White, who runs a technology enthusiast web site,
> when Apple removes an app from the App Store, the next time you sync
> iTunes will automatically remove that application from any iPhones
> or iPod Touches you have it installed on!   Even if you paid for
> it.  Even if it is by all accounts legal.  Even if it has no chance
> of harming other users or the telecommunications infrastructure.
> And it does this without significant warning.
>
> http://terrywhite.com/techblog/?p=753
>
> The context of this story is framed around Netshare, an application
> that seems legal EXCEPT where it comes to the terms of use of your
> AT&T TOS.  I am not an AT&T subscriber and am not subject to their
> TOS.  While I did not buy Netshare and had no plans to do so, it is
> conceivable that users like me might use a similar application to
> have an iPod tethered to a laptop to have this device act as a kind
> of rudimentary firewall, and I'm sure a lot of IP readers who are
> much more saavy about this could come up with a lot more interesting
> uses.  Regardless, it is very disturbing that Apple could do this to
> my device without my permission.  Suppose Apple all of a sudden
> determined that they did not want to support explicit podcasts or
> songs any more, wouldnt their be a huge outcry if all of a sudden
> they started removing these bits off of our devices?  It's a
> terribly slippery slope and if we allow these vendors to take these
> liberties with OUR property there is no telling how far they will
> push this capability.
>
> Sam
>
>
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