Google News Cookies (iOS)

Bradley Hallihan II wrote:

I’ve been investigating, digging into this topic for a while, believing, given Google News app (iOS) behaviors, it appears to be collecting cookies.

I'm sure it collects a lot more than that. This shouldn't be "news" (ha!). You should have seen this privacy disclosure when you downloaded Google News:

That's quite a comprehensive list of data collected. I'm particularly fond of that last one. 😄

This is Google's business model. When you download and use the app, you agree to this collection and any use of your data. That's how it works.

I’ve tried diligently to get answers from Google, but they weren’t very forthcoming, while Apple seemingly appears unaware.

Apple is quite aware. That's why Apple created those privacy disclosures in the first place.

Given Apple’s number one priority is client privacy and security, and given the potential devastating blowback, violations, fines… if this is indeed true, and if it were allowed to get out into the wild, could be quite devastating to Apple’s mantra and overall reputation.

Given the current state of the industry, mass media, and critical thinking skills, I'm thinking Apple's mantra is safe.

Google and Apple have a symbiotic relationship, where as Google pays Apple $1.9 Billion annually for the use of its search engine.

Sorry, but it's more than ten times that amount.

This may present a conflict of interests, especially pertaining to mandated privacy issues.

Those privacy issues aren't mandated. All Apple can do is require companies to publish those disclosures. Said disclosures don't even have to be accurate. Apple is in hot water all over the world for being too strict with 3rd party developers. You seem upset that Apple isn't doing enough. Your government is fining and suing Apple for doing too much.

1.) Google News circumvents Safari, using its own internal browser, ignoring all Safari settings (eg: pop-ups are present, even though set to block in Safari settings).

2.) Google News offers no cookie and/or privacy controls, such as blocking, tacking and removal, etc…

3.) When visiting a news website, you are typically queried for cookie permissions when landing on a news source, while other major news sources aren’t asking, which leads one to assume, cookies must have been already collect, and are in place, in app.

4.) Again, all of this appears to run completely counter to Apple’s privacy posturing, as well as violating jurisdictional, international internet privacy laws, in addition to mandated protections / provisions (eg: California).

Apple has no control over what Google does. Apple also has no control over end users who choose to use Google products instead of Apple's own products that have better privacy protections.

5.) An Apple Senior Engineer recommended deleting the app and restarting the device.

That was correct. That is your only option.

Are my suspicions in/correct?

Hilarious.

Bradley Hallihan II wrote:

MrHoffman, thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, I’ve found it isn’t as easy as it could be, on Apple’s site, to submit feedback, especially and ironically, both a CSR and I discovered, the AppStore isn’t listed in feedback. I rang up support and was guided by that same Apple CSR where to place two comments, one in iTunes, and another elsewhere, hopefully they will eventually get eye’s on.

The sum of what Google collects is well beyond what many people realize.

And to be blunt, I don’t see anything at all notable for what Google is doing here, with their News app.

Google is doing what Google always does, amassing data.

Which in the US and many other jurisdictions is exceedingly if not entirely permissible.

Absent substantial regulatory disincentives—the current US DoJ search anti-trust case included—Google and other marketing and tracking entities most of us have never heard of will continue to amass that data.

Should Google ever be substantively breached, things will be interesting for us all, too.

Don’t like this? Don’t use Google apps and services, and—for discussions of privacy and near-ubiquitous data collection—contact your legislators.

Bradley Hallihan II wrote:

Useful feedback is greatly appreciated, but the obvious doesn’t need to be regurgitated… The mere fact there are jurisdictions (California, EU, Thailand…) which prohibit such subversive actions, denying consumer cookie / privacy controls, is my primary concern (no such settings exist in Google News)

Apple's App Stores are structured around individual countries. The store front for a given country complies with all of the laws for that specific country only. All transactions are tied to one's Apple ID, which is itself tied to a specific country. For this reason, the fact that different countries have different laws is irrelevant to the Apple ecosystem. Apple compiles with the laws of each country where it does business because technically the store is specific to that country only and can only be uses by residents of that country. That's why I can sell my apps in California, the EU, and Thailand, but not China, for example.

However, these laws apply only to Apple's store fronts. Specifically this is about compliance with consumer protection, sales taxes, etc. Apple does not have control over what developers do inside their apps. This is important because most end users completely misunderstand this. They think that Apple scans each app, reviews source code, and has full control over what happens inside apps. This is false. Apple has zero control.

All Apple can do is establish policies around certain technical capabilities and certain aspects of app review. Apple can force developers to publish that privacy disclaimer, but Apple has no idea if companies actually honour those disclaimers internally. And if the disclaimer reads like one of Google's, then there is nothing to even check. You've already given everything away.

all the while Apple asserts, they have our backs regarding privacy

This only applies when you are using Apple's own services and Apple's own apps. If you choose to use Google or any other 3rd party app or service, that's on you, not Apple.

We all assumed Google News was using Safari settings (so much for assumptions).

Perhaps you were thinking about Apple's requirement for 3rd party web browsers to use Apple's WebKit API? That only applies to web browsers like Chrome. If Google wants to publish apps that aren't web browsers, they are free to use any technology they want.

Use the Report a Problem link in the app store, and remove the app, if you have not already done so.

Next step with Apple is contacting the corporate address in Cupertino: Contact - How to Contact Us - Apple

Past that, nobody here is in a position to comment on what Apple might or might not decide, nor what other means of reporting this, nor what other recourses you might choose to pursue with the entities involved here.