Apple has released an official company statement in response to the recent controversy surrounding Apple’s decision to remove apps that relied on MDM systems to provide features similar to those introduced by Apple in iOS 12 as Screen Time.
Echoing comments made in an email from Phil Schiller, the statement directly refutes the claims made by The New York Times this week: ‘Contrary to what The New York Times reported over the weekend, this isn’t a matter of competition. It’s a matter of security’.
In the statement, Apple says it began investigating abuses of MDM for non-enterprise usage in early 2017 and updated App Review guidelines in mid-2017.
Apps that provide parental controls that do not rely on MDM are allowed to continue in the App Store. However, the scope for a parental controls app that operates in the bounds of the iOS app sandbox is small and many features — like automatic, accurate, usage tracking — are simply not possible.
Apple does not address this barrier in its statement, although it is possible that the company introduces a sanctioned API for accessing such data down the road.
Apple says it is committed to fostering a competitive, innovative, marketplace for apps in the App Store including in areas where Apple competes with first-party solutions.
