[scarface74]

How does it "empower" big companies? With app stores, distribution is easier and people are more likely to download an app knowing that it won't install malware, they have fine grained control over what the app can do (at least on iOS) and they can pay just buy putting their thumb on the fingerprint sensor.

Compare that to distributing apps on the internet where you have to trust each software provider with your credit card credentials and even if you do trust the vendor, there is a certain amount of friction just entering your payment information all over the internet.

I much prefer handling all of my subscriptions through iTunes even for services that use other places like Hulu, Netflix, and PluralSight.

Did you ever try to distribute a mobile J2ME app on mobile before the Apple and Google app stores? I know indie PC developers love Steam.

I'm very hestitant to download random software on Windows because of crapware/malware. I'll download iOS apps with abandon from the shadiest developers because I know they can't really do that much harm.

[FatalBaboon]

What I'm reading is that you like a process to be enforced to guarantee some level of quality, which is indeed something I like as well.

However I believe good package formats and OS-level checks can get us there without compromising my private informations to a third party in the process.

[scarface74]

It's not about a level of quality. I can ask for my money back if the software sucks. I know when I download an app from the iOS App Store, exactly what the app is and is not allowed to do based on the sandboxxing that IOS does. I also know that the app won't have access to my private information without me giving it explicit permission when it tries to use it.

The "third party" I'm more concerned about is the random app developer. iOS prevents random developers from having access to files, the camera, the microphone, my music library, my location, contacts, my browsing history,using cellular data, draining my battery by processing in the background, etc. without me giving explicit permission.

Even ad blockers on iOS don't have access to my browsing history and you can disable third party keyboards from having network access.

[FatalBaboon]

First of all, malicious developpers can still ask for unreasonable access and often do. How many times did you want to install an app and wonder why they ask for insane permissions like sending text messages. You may be aware enough to refuse and uninstall at that point but that's not the case for everyone, and Apple washes their hands with this issue.

Furthermore, you may not allow such an app to access your privacy, but Apple itself is above the permission and will happily gather all kinds of data about you, with your implied consent (after all you DID buy a tapped piece of hardware). That's Siri and every remote Apple service for starters, and god knows what else in their closed source shiny software.

The random developer is the least of my concerns.

Now a truly open model where people can enforce torch apps cannot ask for ridiculous permissions, that's better. Enforced by enough parties that nobody can pull the blanket.