How the App Store Ended a Golden Era of Software
As an app reviewer in the early 2000s, I had a front-row seat to free apps’ evolution from delightful to predatory
In the few weeks since I updated my iPhone to iOS 13, I’ve been getting pop-up notifications when an app has been tracking me. It’s a new location transparency feature from Apple, and it’s a good reminder of how many of those location-tracking apps you don’t use anymore, maybe never used, and can’t even remember why you downloaded in the first place.
I’ve been getting a lot of those alerts because I have an obscene number of apps on my phone. I have dozens of folders full of apps. You know those dots at the bottom of your iPhone screen that show you how many pages you have to swipe through? I have 16 of those dots. I am officially an app hoarder who’s embarrassed to show people my iPhone. This is me, raising my hand in the AA meeting, but I’m not anonymous and the other “A” stands for apps.
