Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Epic Games is current waging war on Apple and Google over the right to distribute apps to mobile users. There's been a ton of excellent coverage of the issues, but it's usually missing one key perspective; what do we as users get from the App Stores?
This episode if Impact Assessment looks at the cybersecurity and privacy impacts of the App Store model. Do App Store delivery do anything to improve the security of our devices? Can Apple or Google help protect our privacy? Will they?
- The question [00:00]
- Epic Games vs Apple & Google [00:26]
- Apple's App Store Review Guidelines [01:53]
- Google's guidelines [05:40]
- Granting permissions [07:19]
- App Store ecosystems [09:12]
- The impact [11:10]
References:
- The Fortnite Mega Drop - Permanent Discounts Up to 20%, epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/the-fortnite-mega-drop-permanent-discounts-up-to-20-percent
- Fortnite Usage and Revenue Statistics (2020) - Business of Apps, businessofapps.com/data/fortnite-statistics
- The EPIC TRUTH About Fortnite’s WAR on APPLE - YouTube, youtube.com/watch?v=sM4QmEw6QDM
- App Store Review Guidelines - Apple Developer, developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”) | Federal Trade Commission, ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule
- Apple Developer Documentation, developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/protecting_the_user_s_privacy
- Privacy - Apple, apple.com/privacy
- Developer Policy Center, play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy
- Apple rips into Epic Games in a court filing about the Fortnite saga, thenextweb.com/apple/2020/08/21/apple-rips-into-epic-games-court-filing-about-fortnite-saga
- Review, Refocus, and Recalibrate: The 2019 Mobile Threat Landscape - Security Roundup - Trend Micro USA, trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/research-and-analysis/threat-reports/roundup/review-refocus-and-recalibrate-the-2019-mobile-threat-landscape
- Unprecedented new iPhone malware discovered - Malwarebytes Labs | Malwarebytes Labs, blog.malwarebytes.com/mac/2019/08/unprecedented-new-iphone-malware-discovered
Epic Games is current waging war on Apple and Google over the right to distribute apps to mobile users. There's been a ton of excellent coverage of the issues, but it's usually missing one key perspective; what do we as users get from the App Stores?
This episode if Impact Assessment looks at the cybersecurity and privacy impacts of the App Store model. Do App Store delivery do anything to improve the security of our devices? Can Apple or Google help protect our privacy? Will they?
- The question [00:00]
- Epic Games vs Apple & Google [00:26]
- Apple's App Store Review Guidelines [01:53]
- Google's guidelines [05:40]
- Granting permissions [07:19]
- App Store ecosystems [09:12]
- The impact [11:10]
References:
- The Fortnite Mega Drop - Permanent Discounts Up to 20%, epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/the-fortnite-mega-drop-permanent-discounts-up-to-20-percent
- Fortnite Usage and Revenue Statistics (2020) - Business of Apps, businessofapps.com/data/fortnite-statistics
- The EPIC TRUTH About Fortnite’s WAR on APPLE - YouTube, youtube.com/watch?v=sM4QmEw6QDM
- App Store Review Guidelines - Apple Developer, developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”) | Federal Trade Commission, ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule
- Apple Developer Documentation, developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/protecting_the_user_s_privacy
- Privacy - Apple, apple.com/privacy
- Developer Policy Center, play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy
- Apple rips into Epic Games in a court filing about the Fortnite saga, thenextweb.com/apple/2020/08/21/apple-rips-into-epic-games-court-filing-about-fortnite-saga
- Review, Refocus, and Recalibrate: The 2019 Mobile Threat Landscape - Security Roundup - Trend Micro USA, trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/research-and-analysis/threat-reports/roundup/review-refocus-and-recalibrate-the-2019-mobile-threat-landscape
- Unprecedented new iPhone malware discovered - Malwarebytes Labs | Malwarebytes Labs, blog.malwarebytes.com/mac/2019/08/unprecedented-new-iphone-malware-discovered
