By: As per a recent report, the Apple CEO Tim Cook almost kicked Uber out of the Apple App Store. Uber has consistently been trying to violate the App Store’s guidelines, and that’s what triggered the move, that’s why Apple Wanted To Fire Uber From Apple App Store.
Back in 2014, the Uber CEO Travis Kalanick overlooked the apple guidelines in his actions. He directed his engineers to identify some specific iPhones despite the installing of Uber app in them. Mr Cook has always been an enthusiast of user privacy, and when he git the hint of Uber’s intentions, he simply decided to throw the app out of the Apple’s store.
Mr. Kalanick tried to hide the Uber’s actions from Apple for months. Apple wasn’t unaware, and Mr. Cook warned Uber to stop its tricks else the Uber would be out of the Apple App Store( Apple Wanted To Fire Uber ). However, Uber was never removed from the Apple App Store.
Uber in its defence says that the company has never tried to track a phone that uninstalls the app. These are just a handful of protective measures to avoid frauds and mishaps. Te company says it tries to prevent some thieves from using the app in a stolen phone and booking an expensive ride through it. These measures just help recognise suspicious logins to protect the User’s user accounts.
As per the report, Uber used to install a piece of code that helped it detect when an iPhone gets stolen, and its content was erased. But this was a straight violation of Apple’s guidelines. Apple wants no data that would link a device to the owner when a user wipes clean a device. Uber engineers cleverly geofenced Apple headquarters in Cupertino. They then digitally identified people reviewing the app in a specific location. They also muddled their code in the geofenced area by drawing a digital lasso. Uber’s tried hiding it’s fingerprinting from the Apple.
The Uber’s ploy didn’t last long, and Apple engineers outside Cupertino caught them. While Uber’s purpose may be clean, but their methods were insincere. Will Strafach, a mobile security expert even saw the Uber’s private API calls in its older version of iOS app.
In the recent past, Uber has been all around for all the wrong reasons. So disclosure again came at a very wrong time for the company.
