Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) after rallying at the beginning of the month the stock lost 1.89 in the last trading session to end the day at $170.94 per share.
The decline is at the back of reports that some apps may be recording apple users’ action without their consent. Apple has so far responded to these reports and they have threatened developers that they will remove iPhone apps caught recording the users’ activities from the store.
TechCrunch had reported earlier that iPHone apps from Air Canada, Holister and Expedia were employing a “session replay” software from Glassbox that enabled them record the actions of users such as swipes and screen taps in the process of using the app.
These Glassbox applications did not tell the users that they were recording their screen activity inside the app. Glassbox is a tool employing cross platform analytics to allows integration of screen recording technology into applications as a way of reducing rates of errors in applications. The company in their privacy policy does not mention that they employ Glassbox’s screen recording technology.
Warning to developer
Apple has already issued a warning to developer telling them that they should tell users when and if they are recording the actions of users when using the app.
In a statement apple said that protecting the privacy of users was very paramount in their ecosystem. The statement indicated that the App Store Review Guideline requires all apps to request user consent and also provider a clear indication when they are recording or making a record of activity of the user. The company further added that they had notified developer who violated the privacy terms and guidelines that the company was ready to take action against them if necessary.
Apple has threatened to take action by removing the app from their app store if it was in violation of the code. The company gave the developer a day to do away with the offending code and then resubmit the app or else the app will get expunged completely from the store.