[yreg]

Devil's advocate:

Contrary to explorer.exe, App Store is an internet service in the sense that it requires sending requests to backend for pretty much any user action. There is zero functionality without a data connection.

[newaccount74]

How does that justify logging user actions? Just because you can log customer requests does not mean it is morally right to do so.

[yreg]

I am responding to a specific argument. That argument is that App Store is not an internet service. I say it is.

[cmeacham98]

The point is not that the App Store isn't an online service (although I would argue that it more "relies on" an online service), but that its role as part of the OS supersedes that.

I can't go back and edit my comment now, but to make it more clear I probably should have written something like:

> I strongly disagree that the iOS App Store should be treated as ___only___ an "internet service" rather than...

[grog454]

Why can't we just say internet service or not, privacy applies. My banking is done through internet services and I still have privacy expectations there.

[2OEH8eoCRo0]

Uninstall requires a backend? If uninstall doesn't require a backend then it's not an internet service. It's manipulating things on-device.

It's a package manager and tracker designed in such a way that it only talks to Apple's backend.

It's still the system package manager though.

[yreg]

There is no functionality for uninstalling software in the App Store app.

Users uninstall apps directly from the homescreen (springboard), without going through the App Store app.

[scarface74]

Every app can have iCloud associated data that would be deleted when you uninstall the app. Also push notifications go through Apple’s servers and then Apple bundles them for different apps. Apple would need to know not to send push notifications to an app that is no longer installed.

Also of course Apple keeps a record of installed apps. If you drop your phone in the ocean and go to the Apple Store to buy a new one, your installed apps are reinstalled.

[smoldesu]

iCloud is the problem, here. Apple has no right to predecate my software usage on the existence of an account with them. It's equally as absurd as Windows requiring a Microsoft ID to log in.

[scarface74]

Then don’t buy an Apple device?

Apple for over 40 years has sold integrated software and hardware and for over 20 has sold hardware + integrated online services (iPod+ iTunes) and now you are shocked that when you buy an Apple device you also buy into their ecosystem?

Exactly how is anything on the iPhone suppose to work without an account? Push notifications?

Most Android apps are also dependent on Google services and a Google account.

[quickthrower2]

Windows is now entirely an internet service as you need a microsoft account and internet connection to install it.

[whywhywhywhy]

You don’t, they try to obscure it but you can still install without a Microsoft Account.

[AshamedCaptain]

At some point, when you have to go find the disassembler and start monkey patching binaries, some people will still say "but there's still a workaround!".

[RunSet]

Reminds me of how Firefox removed the ability to set a URL for new tabs (the better to display advertising on them) but justified it by saying "Users can trust and install a third-party extension to enable that functionality."

[gog]

And obscuring it in a way that you need to disconnect from the internet for the local account installation to become available.

[yreg]

That's a dark pattern, but even so, Windows is useful without the internet. App Store doesn't demand a data connection on a whim, it fundamentally needs it for all of its functionality.

[Semaphor]

Source? Because last I checked, local accounts were discouraged but worked.

[quickthrower2]

I got through 3 new lenovos with windows 11. One purchase but returned 2 due hardware issues. Installed windows about 3 or 4 times