Apple cracks down on screen-time and parental-control applications

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“They all tell a similar story: They ran apps that helped people limit the time they and their children spent on iPhones,” Jack Nicas reports for The New York Times. “Then Apple created its own screen-time tracker. And then Apple made staying in business very, very difficult.”

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“Over the past year, Apple has removed or restricted at least 11 of the 17 most downloaded screen-time and parental-control apps, according to an analysis by The New York Times and Sensor Tower, an app-data firm,” Nicas reports. “Apple has also clamped down on a number of lesser-known apps… Some app makers with thousands of paying customers have shut down. Most others say their futures are in jeopardy.”

“On Thursday, two of the most popular parental-control apps, Kidslox and Qustodio, filed a complaint with the European Union’s competition office. Kidslox said business had plummeted since Apple forced changes to its app that made it less useful than Apple’s tool,” Nicas reports. “‘We treat all apps the same, including those that compete with our own services,’ said Tammy Levine, an Apple spokeswoman. ‘Our incentive is to have a vibrant app ecosystem that provides consumers access to as many quality apps as possible.’ She said the timing of Apple’s moves were not related to its debut of similar tools.”

“Last year, the company stopped apps from using the software to enable parents to control their children’s devices. The Apple spokeswoman said Applehad blocked the practice because app makers could gain access to too much information on the children’s devices.”

Read more in the full article here.