Revolt of the Planet of the Apps

I think it’s clear by now that I will do just about anything to work in a reference to the greatest film meme of all time, Planet of the Apes. Let’s just say that I have a very indulgent editor. You da man, John Taschek.

[Ed. note: Planet of the Apes is not just the greatest film memes, it quite possibly is the greatest film. Rotten Tomatoes score of 89 percent for this kind of movie is amazing!]

That said, the monkeys are restless on the Planet of the Apps, and the reason is the current crisis in privacy.

The Planet of Apps has been rising in accordance with the Holy Prophecy, which of course is Mary Meeker’s widely read presentation at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Top Mobile Internet Trends. Meeker correctly pointed out that there would be a critical inflection point in 2011 when smart phone and tablet sales would outstrip sales of PCs:

But what really led up to the Rise of the Planet of the Apps is the underlying shift in time spent on devices. Mobile application analytics company Flurry spotted and in flection point of its own last summer:

So more non-PC devices + more time spent on them = Rise of the Planet of the Apps. Let’s get to the Revolt part.

Few startups burst on the scene with the aura of inevitable success that surrounded Path, which describes itself as “the smart journal that helps you share life with the ones you love.” Much of that is due the well-deserved respect of its founder, Dave Morin. (For the record, I know, have worked with, and have tremendous respect for Morin.) Since Path debuted in November, it has racked up an astonishing two million users.

But the wheels seemed to fly off the bus recently when, according to PC Magazine, a developer revealed that Path uploads a user’s address book without permission. Morin originally defended the app as adhering to “industry best practices”, and but as the furor grew, apologized in an open letter to users, while pointing out that Path used the contact information to help the app only to make better recommendations. They quickly posted a revised version of Path that requires users to opt-in to the feature and deleted all the stored contact data.

This is where the revolt goes full tilt. Apple, often accused of running a strict nanny state for developers, was shocked. Congress was in a kerfuffle, demanding in a sternly worded letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook that he explain how things went so horribly wrong. (The NYT goes out on a limb in establishing harm here.) And bloggers at CNET like the venerable Charlie Cooper called the story “App Gate” and warned users that on the Planet of the Apps, you are on your own. I think Charlie is right.

But the revolt didn’t stop there.

The LA times reported that Twitter’s iPhone app also uploads contacts and stores them for 18 months. Twitter backpedaled furiously to the Times:

“In response to questions about the process, Twitter spokeswoman Carolyn Penner said the company is planning an update to the language they use in the mobile app.

"We want to be clear and transparent in our communications with users," Penner wrote in an email. "Along those lines, in our next app updates, which are coming soon, we are updating the language associated with Find Friends -- to be more explicit. In place of 'Scan your contacts,' we will use "Upload your contacts" and "Import your contacts" (in Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android, respectively).”

Pinterest also got called out for tracking user behavior and using it to generate commission on purchases they make.

And then this bombshell from the Wall Street Journal: Google surreptitiously installed code on iPhones that tracked users across websites. Props to the Journal for displaying the offending code in a graphic:

That’s what we used to call red-handed. Quoth the WSJ: “Google disabled its code after being contacted by The Wall Street Journal.” Ouch. This is why we can’t have nice things.

This is why the natives are restless on the Planet of the Apps. Here’s my plan to quell the rebellion:

1. The classic definition of a gaffe comes from Michael Kinsley, who famously said, a gaffe is when a politician accidentally tells the truth.” That was true for Morin’s statement about “industry best practices” let’s establish and clarify exactly what those are for privacy. I bet there is a wider variation than is currently assumed
2. Time for an industry coalition based round privacy, so that companies can share those best practices. Delegating this to iOS developer rules is not going to be enough.
3. Use this coalition to establish a privacy rating or badging system so consumers know exactly what they are getting in to.
4. Develop technologies like the “panic button” suggested by the US State Department.  Super useful? No. But who wouldn’t want a panic button app?
5. C’mon lawyer dudes. We need 100-word EULAs that are clear and emphatic on privacy. Here’s a hilarious first draft from Wired.

I think if the industry tackles this issue squarely, it can avoid a critical mass of users paraphrasing the immortal words of Charlton Heston: “Take your hands off my data, you damned dirty App!”