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Apple declined to implement 16 Web APIs in Safari due to privacy concerns

(www.zdnet.com)
428 points coronadisaster | 2 comments | 29 Jun 20 10:16 UTC | HN request time: 0.004s | source
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phkahler ◴[29 Jun 20 13:32 UTC] No.23677378[source]▶
Those APIs should not exist. Web site creators need to stop acting like they are entitled to access whatever they want on someone's computer.

I dont care about your unique SaS usecase, these are invasive. Make a native app if that's what you need.

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azangru ◴[29 Jun 20 13:58 UTC] No.23677650[source]▶
Why is accessing this via a native app better than accessing it via web browser?
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danaris ◴[29 Jun 20 15:55 UTC] No.23678723[source]▶
Creating these APIs doesn't just grant access to them to well-thought-out PWAs with a clear use case.

It grants access to every shady malware ad that wants to siphon your data and that of everyone around you.

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1. azangru ◴[29 Jun 20 16:39 UTC] No.23679168[source]▶
> It grants access to every shady malware ad that wants to siphon your data and that of everyone around you.

Can't native apps do so as well?

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2. danaris ◴[29 Jun 20 18:41 UTC] No.23680863[source]▶
Well, first of all, there's a massive difference of threat scale between "the apps I have personally chosen to download and install" and "every website that I visit, even if only for a moment."

Second of all, there's no App Store review process for malicious websites. An app that wants to harvest your data will at least have to have some vaguely plausible useful purpose in order to even have a chance to try.

So I don't know about you, but personally, if you were to ask me, "Do you think a restriction that reduces the number of people able to harvest your data in this particular way by about 90%, or is it totally useless if it's not 100%?", I'd say go for the 90% solution rather than just throwing up my hands and saying it's hopeless.