Apple's iPhone Developer License Agreement Revealed

nigham writes "The EFF is publicly disclosing a version of Apple's iPhone developer program license agreement. The highlights: you can't disclose the agreement itself (the EFF managed to get it via the Freedom of Information Act thanks to NASA's recent app), Apple reserves the right to kill your app at any time with no reason, and Apple's liability in any circumstance is limited to 50 bucks. There's also this gem: 'You will not, through use of the Apple Software, services or otherwise create any Application or other program that would disable, hack, or otherwise interfere with the Security Solution, or any security, digital signing, digital rights management, verification or authentication mechanisms implemented in or by the iPhone operating system software, iPod Touch operating system software, this Apple Software, any services or other Apple software or technology, or enable others to do so.' The entire agreement (PDF) is up at the EFF's site."

Comments

Re:Maybe its time ...

[schmidt349]

Yes, it's ironic because Apple spies on its users, recording their Web searches and most of the URLs they visit via the tendrils of their ad network.

Whoops, sorry, that's Google.

But wait! Apple forces you to join their new social network system without any opt-in notice, exposing the names of everyone you've ever emailed to any idiot with a mail account from them!

Nope, that's Google again.

Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of Google's services (especially Google Books) and I use it every day like every other yutz on the Internet. But don't make the mistake of assuming that your favorite hardware/software/Web company isn't a massive corporate nightmare that would happily sell your porn-viewing habits to the Fed for a nickel if it were legal. It's not Big Brother, it's Big Business-- all about the dollar signs. There's no money in privacy.

Re:What's the big deal?

[bill_mcgonigle]

Apple has always made a big thing of pointing its marketing at "creative types" who supposedly think outside the box. This just goes to confirm that what this really means is "You'll think outside the box in the way that WE tell you to, dammit".

You mean the creative types who are all trying to do their best to look like a scruffy Buddy Holly, living in the same urban centers, buying food and drink from the same mass-market 'alternative' venues, driving the same poor-value car, and constantly fiddling with their iPh... OK, you win.