this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
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We really need Apple to open their platform to other app stores.
I mean… maybe? I don’t actually care. My MIL will absolutely get tricked into downloading some spyware or scam app from some shady 3rd party App Store if they existed.
The walled garden approach isn’t for everyone - but I don’t actually mind it at all.
Leave the walled garden up. Just allow an opening of the user wants to.
The issue is for the technically illiterate it’s often not nearly as intentional.
No one reads pop ups or warnings, they just click ok when they’re told.
My MIL was on her way to Home Depot to buy gift cards when my FIL called me because he couldn’t talk her out of it and thought I could.
She had clicked a popup and then called the number - then somehow googled for Apple support number and called another scam.
Literally anything that makes that more likely or easier is a net negative for a very sizeable percentage of users.
I am certainly a power user - but there aren’t really any android apps that I think I’m missing out on.
There’s 1/10th the spyware / garbage ware in the Apple Store vs Play store, and that’s before we get into 3rd party stores.
Mac has a good-ish solution where you need to go into settings to allow unapproved apps. It’s not a pop up. You need to go there manually.
It’s not that great of a solution, though. I dunno if anyone remembers but, when Gatekeeper (the interface to do this) first was added to MacOS, it was in response to a malware “virus scanner” that was out called MacKeeper. It was advertised as a malware scanner/Mac maintenance tool but it was just an ad platform that would inject all kinds of crap into your browser and run all kinds of keyloggers and things in the background.
As soon as Gatekeeper was released, the MacKeeper website made a specific page that had step-by-step instructions for how to disable Gatekeeper and it would prompt you to visit the page if MacKeeper ever made it onto your system. If you ever re-enabled it, it would prompt you to disable again and show you the instructions.
It’s an endless cat and mouse game. The only way this works is if they put it in as a multi-step terminal process. Novice users will not fuck with the terminal unless they know what they’re doing and are comfortable with the consequences.
Apple does that for enterprise profiles and vpn profiles on iOS. Guaranteed you can talk most people into doing that without much trouble.
You can trick anyone into doing stupid things. That’s why scam and phishing exists. I also remember tricking kids on counterstrike to format their C: drive to “activate cheats”
Sure, but it’s infinitely harder on iOS to install malware, spyware or something else, I’m sure you’d agree. How many times have you looked at someone complaining about their computer being slow and they have 74 browser weather extensions and bars all siphoning data and doing who knows what.
It’s also easier to track down the publisher of a scam app to figure out who’s doing the scamming.
Simply put, I have less to worry about with older folks in my life using iOS than something else.
You dick.
Rush B!
There are more Android users than Apple users worldwide. Lots of them are not very tech savvy, but they don't get tricked into installing random apps. You can't even do that unless you go into settings and enable third-party app installs. I don't think it's really a big problem like you think it is