Consumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:Main Page

2025-12-10T21:39:26Z

Mallveo: /* "Random Page" should be front and center :) */ new section

<div class="plainlinks" style="text-align: center; margin: {{#ifeq:{{{navbox|<noinclude>yes</noinclude>}}}|yes|2px}} 0 0.5em; padding: 0.5em; {{{style|border: 1px solid #A0A5AD;}}} {{{backgroundstyle|background-color: var(--background-color-progressive-subtle, #eaf3ff); color: inherit;}}}"><span style="font-size: 120%;">'''Welcome!'''</span><br>To reach the moderator team, please add a new topic at the [[Consumer Rights Wiki talk:Moderators' noticeboard|Moderators' noticeboard]].<br>To report a bug, please add a new topic at the [[Consumer Rights Wiki talk:Bugs|Bugs noticeboard]].</div>
{{Archives}}

== Hey what happened to my account? ==

I am currently using "Edit Source" as a way to communicate, but I am not sure what happened. What happened to "Edit" what happened to me not able to reply? What did I do?

:@[[User:Jerry468|Jerry468]] This happens in discussions, for some reason there is no 'edit' button in discussion pages, instead use the 'reply' button next to discussions or the 'Add Topic' button on the top right. [[User:AnotherConsumerRightsPerson|<i><b>AnotherConsumerRightsPerson</b></i>]] ([[User talk:AnotherConsumerRightsPerson|talk]]) 15:31, 29 October 2025 (UTC)

== "Random Page" should be front and center :) ==

When browsing without an account "Random Page" is hidden behind a menu. Is there a way to plop it right next to "search" or in the middle of the home page to better facilitate visitors? (or maybe a browse button? Or a "New here? Read about consumer rights here!" where it gives a quick into and recommends a good page to start browsing).

Its just a little overwhelming to be a visitor curious about consumer rights and not having a clear place to start. [[User:Mallveo|Mallveo]] ([[User talk:Mallveo|talk]]) 21:39, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

Apple removes apps aiding protests

2025-12-03T08:50:19Z

Mallveo: Fixed references

DISPLAYTITLE

Apple has removed several apps that aid in protesting against governments. HKmap.live in China after a request from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-12-02 |title=Apple removes police-tracking app used in Hong Kong protests from its app store |url=https://hksar.org/apple-removes-police-tracking-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests-from-its-app-store |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=Hong Kong News}}</ref> Navalny in Russia after a threat to prosecute Apple's Russian employees.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Troianovski |first=Anton |last2=Satariano |first2=Adam |date=2021-09-17 |title=Google and Apple, Under Pressure From Russia, Remove Voting App |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/europe/russia-navalny-app-election.html |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> ICEBlock and other similar apps in America after a request by the DOJ.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Oliver |first=Ashley |date=2025-10-02 |title=Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from Bondi DOJ |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-app-after-pressure-from-ag-bondi |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=Fox Business}}</ref>
==HKmap.live==
===Background===
HKmap.live was used by protesters to avoid police while protesting.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-10 |title=Apple removes HKmap.live app used by Hong Kong protesters under pressure from China |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/apple-hkmap-live-app-hong-kong-china-police-protesters-used-target-ambush-police-2019-10-10/ |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=CBS News}}</ref> The app compiles data from public sources to provide its users with information on tear gas use and police locations. Some of this data can include Telegram chats and user provided data.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-03 |title=Apple bans Hong Kong protest location app |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49919459 |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mihalcik |first=Carrie |date=2019-10-10 |title=Apple pulls HKmap.live app used in Hong Kong protests |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/apple-pulls-hkmap-live-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests/ |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=CNET}}</ref>

===Removal===
Apple pulled down the app after the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) “verified” with Apple that it was used to “target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents”.<ref name=":0" /> Although, no information on these claims have been provided to the public.

A case for a potential conflict of interest can be made with most of Apple’s assembly being in China.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nicas |first=Jack |date=2019-10-09 |title=Apple Removes App That Helps Hong Kong Protesters Track the Police |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/technology/apple-hong-kong-app.html |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

==Navalny==

===Background===
The Navalny app was run by Aleksei A. Navalny, a political opponent of the president Vladimir V. Putin. Russian protesters were going to use the app to coordinate votes against Vladimir V. Putin’s United Russia party.<ref name=":1" />

===Removal===
The app was removed from Apple’s app store in 2021 after Russia “threatened to prosecute local employees”. The app’s removal occurred just before voting started.<ref name=":1" />

==ICEBlock==

===Background===
ICEBlock was made to help users “avoid interactions with ICE” with features like being notified when an ICE officer has been spotted within 5 miles of the user.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duffy |first=Clare |date=2025-07-01 |title='I wanted to do something to fight back': New app lets users know when ICE agents are in their area |url=https://abc7.com/post/iceblock-new-iphone-app-lets-users-know-when-ice-agents-are-area/16902392/ |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=Eyewitness News}}</ref>

===Removal===
ICEBlock and other similar apps in America after request by the DOJ as directed by Pam Boondie. "We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so," Bondi is quoted as saying to Fox News Digital.<ref name=":2" /> Information on what was said in the request is not publicly known. Further information is being requested by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-20 |title=EFF Demands Answers About ICE-Spotting App Takedowns |url=https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-demands-answers-about-ice-spotting-app-takedowns |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</ref>

ICEBlock’s creator, Joshua Aaron, pointed out how “ICEBlock… functions like other mapping applications that use crowd sourcing for speed traps”.<ref name=":2" />

==References==
{{reflist}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Apple Removes Apps from the App Store that Aid Protesters}}
[[Category:Apple]]
[[Category:Apple App Store]]
[[Category:HKmap.live]]
[[Category:Navalny]]
[[Category:ICEBlock]]

Apple removes apps aiding protests

2025-12-03T08:07:04Z

Mallveo: changed some words, removed unintentional features, tried to change title

DISPLAYTITLE

Apple has removed several apps that aid in protesting against governments. HKmap.live in China after a request from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau.[https://hksar.org/apple-removes-police-tracking-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests-from-its-app-store] Navalny in Russia after a threat to prosecute Apple's Russian employees.[https://web.archive.org/web/20251011233956/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/europe/russia-navalny-app-election.html] ICEBlock and other similar apps in America after a request by the DOJ.[https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-app-after-pressure-from-ag-bondi]
==HKmap.live==
===Background===
HKmap.live was used by protesters to avoid police while protesting.[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/apple-hkmap-live-app-hong-kong-china-police-protesters-used-target-ambush-police-2019-10-10/] The app compiles data from public sources to provide its users with information on tear gas use and police locations. Some of this data can include Telegram chats and user provided data.[https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49919459][https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/apple-pulls-hkmap-live-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests/]

===Removal===
Apple pulled down the app after the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) “verified” with Apple that it was used to “target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents”.[https://hksar.org/apple-removes-police-tracking-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests-from-its-app-store] Although, no information on these claims have been provided to the public.

A case for a potential conflict of interest can be made with most of Apple’s assembly being in China.[https://web.archive.org/web/20251011074618/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/technology/apple-hong-kong-app.html]

==Navalny==

===Background===
The Navalny app was run by Aleksei A. Navalny, a political opponent of the president Vladimir V. Putin. Russian protesters were going to use the app to coordinate votes against Vladimir V. Putin’s United Russia party.[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/europe/russia-navalny-app-election.html]

===Removal===
The app was removed from Apple’s app store in 2021 after Russia “threatened to prosecute local employees”. The app’s removal occurred just before voting started.[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/europe/russia-navalny-app-election.html]

==ICEBlock==

===Background===
ICEBlock was made to help users “avoid interactions with ICE” with features like being notified when an ICE officer has been spotted within 5 miles of the user.[https://abc7.com/post/iceblock-new-iphone-app-lets-users-know-when-ice-agents-are-area/16902392/]

===Removal===
ICEBlock and other similar apps in America after request by the DOJ as directed by Pam Boondie. "We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so," Bondi is quoted as saying to Fox News Digital.[https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-app-after-pressure-from-ag-bondi] Information on what was said in the request is not publicly known. Further information is being requested by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.[https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-demands-answers-about-ice-spotting-app-takedowns]

ICEBlock’s creator, Joshua Aaron, pointed out how “ICEBlock… functions like other mapping applications that use crowd sourcing for speed traps”.[https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-app-after-pressure-from-ag-bondi]

==References==
{{reflist}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Apple Removes Apps from the App Store that Aid Protesters}}
[[Category:Apple]]
[[Category:Apple App Store]]
[[Category:HKmap.live]]
[[Category:Navalny]]
[[Category:ICEBlock]]

Apple removes apps aiding protests

2025-12-03T08:02:22Z

Mallveo: Base info is in

DISPLAYTITLE
{{IncidentCargo
|Company=Apple
|StartDate=2019
|EndDate=2025
|Status=Resolved
|Product=Navalny, ICEBlock, HKmap.live
|ArticleType=Service
|Type=Erosion of rights, Speech
|Description=Apple has removed several apps that aid in protesting against governments. HKmap.live in China, Navalny in Russia, ICEBlock, and other similar apps in
}}Apple has removed several apps that aid in protesting against governments. HKmap.live in China after a request from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau.[https://hksar.org/apple-removes-police-tracking-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests-from-its-app-store] Navalny in Russia after a threat to prosecute Apple's Russian employees.[https://web.archive.org/web/20251011233956/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/europe/russia-navalny-app-election.html] ICEBlock and other similar apps in America after a request by the DOJ.[https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-app-after-pressure-from-ag-bondi]
==HKmap.live==
===Background===
HKmap.live was used by protesters to avoid cops while protesting.[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/apple-hkmap-live-app-hong-kong-china-police-protesters-used-target-ambush-police-2019-10-10/] The app compiles data from public sources to provide its users with information on teargas use and police locations. Some of this data can include Telegram chats and user provided data.[https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49919459][https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/apple-pulls-hkmap-live-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests/]

===Removal===
Apple pulled down the app after the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) “verified” with Apple that it was used to “target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents”.[https://hksar.org/apple-removes-police-tracking-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests-from-its-app-store] Although, no information on these claims have been provided to the public.

A case for a potential conflict of interest can be made with most of Apple’s assembly being in China.[https://web.archive.org/web/20251011074618/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/technology/apple-hong-kong-app.html]

== Navalny ==

===Background===
The Navalny app was run by Aleksei A. Navalny, a political opponent of the president Vladimir V. Putin. Russian protesters were going to use the app to coordinate votes against Vladimir V. Putin’s United Russia party.[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/europe/russia-navalny-app-election.html]

===Removal===
The app was removed from Apple’s app store in 2021 after Russia “threatened to prosecute local employees”. The app’s removal occurred just before voting started.[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/europe/russia-navalny-app-election.html]

== ICEBlock ==

===Background===
ICEBlock was made to help users “avoid interactions with ICE” with features like being notified when an ICE officer has been spotted within 5 miles of the user.[https://abc7.com/post/iceblock-new-iphone-app-lets-users-know-when-ice-agents-are-area/16902392/]

===Removal===
ICEBlock and other similar apps in America after request by the DOJ as directed by Pam Boondie. "We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so," Bondi is quoted as saying to Fox News Digital.[https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-app-after-pressure-from-ag-bondi] Information on what was said in the request is not publicly known. Further information is being requested by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.[https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-demands-answers-about-ice-spotting-app-takedowns]

ICEBlock’s creator, Joshua Aaron, pointed out how “ICEBlock… functions like other mapping applications that use crowd sourcing for speed traps”.[https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-app-after-pressure-from-ag-bondi]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Apple]]
[[Category:Apple App Store]]
[[Category:HKmap.live]]
[[Category:Navalny]]
[[Category:ICEBlock]]

Apple removes apps aiding protests

2025-12-03T03:36:19Z

Mallveo: creating artical

{{IncidentCargo
|Company=Apple
|StartDate=2019
|EndDate=2025
|Status=Resolved
|Product=Navalny, ICEBlock, HKmap.live
|ArticleType=Service
|Type=Erosion of rights, Speech
|Description=Apple has removed several apps that aid in protesting against governments. HKmap.live in China, Navalny in Russia, ICEBlock, and other similar apps in
}}
{{Ph-I-Int}}
==Background==
{{Ph-I-B}}

==[Incident]==
{{Ph-I-I}}

===[Company]'s response===
{{Ph-I-ComR}}

==Lawsuit==
{{Ph-I-L}}

==Consumer response==
{{Ph-I-ConR}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Ph-I-C}}

Apple App Store

2025-12-03T02:30:00Z

Mallveo: /* JIT */ changing wording to better reflect content guidelines

{{ToneWarning}}
[[File:App Store (iOS).svg|thumb|150px]]

'''[[Apple]]''' uses a range of technical measures to protect their App Store ecosystem and reduce consumer choice. These measures obscure the company's business intentions, creating roadblocks for app developers and users, while typically citing security reasons for their existence. This actively hurts the ability for lawmakers to advocate for the rights of consumers and businesses in Apple's ecosystem, and prevents apps from being as useful as their customers expect.

A never-ending demand for a cut of every sale of a digital product, ranging from game currency, to supporting content creators,<ref name="patreon">{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=12 Aug 2024 |title=Patreon: adding Apple’s 30 percent tax is the price of staying in the App Store |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/12/24218629/patreon-membership-ios-30-percent-apple-tax |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> to booking a Zoom call with a local business,<ref name="facebook">{{Cite web |last=Paul |first=Katie |last2=Nellis |first2=Stephen |date=28 Aug 2020 |title=Exclusive: Facebook says Apple rejected its attempt to tell users about App Store fees |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-apple-exclusive/exclusive-facebook-says-apple-rejected-its-attempt-to-tell-users-about-app-store-fees-idUSKBN25O042/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> hurts the ability for app developers to innovate. These developers, working hard and pulling countless hours to build a quality app, always need to take Apple's (and [[Google]]'s) demands into account - specifically, a fee of between 15% and 30% of all revenue collected via the app. This is revenue that can be reinvested into the app, but instead must be earmarked for the platforms they are '''required''' to use to reach their customers.

Because this is a clear problem, several governments, including South Korea,<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 Mar 2022 |title=South Korea approves rules on app store law targeting Apple, Google |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/skorea-approves-rules-app-store-law-targeting-apple-google-2022-03-08/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> Japan,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharwood |first=Simon |date=13 Jun 2024 |title=Japan forces Apple and Google to allow third-party app stores and payments |url=https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/13/japan_smartphone_software_law/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[The Register]]}}</ref> the European Union,<ref>[[wikipedia:Digital Markets Act|Digital Markets Act]]</ref> the United Kingdom,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Competition and Markets Authority |date=4 Mar 2021 |title=Investigation into Apple AppStore |url=https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/investigation-into-apple-appstore |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[gov.uk]]}}</ref> Australia,<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 Apr 2021 |title=Dominance of Apple and Google's app stores impacting competition and consumers |url=https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/dominance-of-apple-and-googles-app-stores-impacting-competition-and-consumers |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[ACCC]]}}</ref> as well as the US and a handful of states,<ref>[[wikipedia:Open App Markets Act|Open App Markets Act]]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 Nov 2024 |title=S.5364 - App Store Accountability Act |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/5364/text/is |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[congress.gov]]}}</ref><ref name="doj">{{Cite web |last=Balsamo |first=Mike |last2=Liedtke |first2=Mike |last3=Whitehurst |first3=Lindsay |last4=Bajak |first4=Frank |date=21 Mar 2024 |title=Justice Department sues Apple, alleging it illegally monopolized the smartphone market |url=https://apnews.com/article/apple-antitrust-monopoly-app-store-justice-department-822d7e8f5cf53a2636795fcc33ee1fc3 |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[APNews]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Feb 2021 |title=It’s time to free ourselves from ‘Big Tech’ monopoly |url=https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2021/02/19/its-time-to-free-ourselves-from-big-tech-monopoly/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Arizona Capitol Times]]}}</ref> have opened investigations into anti-competitive practices, or considered or already passed legislation to force "gatekeeper platforms" such as Apple to be more reasonable with third-party developers.

This being a major threat to Apple's revenue stream (interestingly, one they claim to be unsure is profitable<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lovejoy |first=Ben |date=17 Apr 2024 |title=Schiller doesn’t know whether the App Store is profitable; there are no minutes of meetings |url=https://9to5mac.com/2024/04/17/app-store-is-profitable-apple-notes/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[9to5Mac]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lovejoy |first=Ben |date=17 Jan 2025 |title=Apple denies App Store profit margin is 75% – claims to have no clue |url=https://9to5mac.com/2025/01/17/apple-denies-app-store-profit-margin-is-75-claims-to-have-no-clue/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[9t05Mac]]}}</ref>), they have responded with practices such as geoblocking certain operating system functionality based on physical location,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eligibility |url=https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/Eligibility |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[The Apple Wiki]]}}</ref> misrepresenting/overstating risks, and using careful wording with commonly-understood terms to describe unreasonably difficult-to-use systems.

Unlike traditional purchases of software licenses, Apple's App Store terms tie the license to a specific account and thus make it impossible for users to re-sell their license second hand, to buy apps second hand, or to inherit a license from a relative.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-02-10 |title=I can sell my apps? |url=https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5888894 |access-date=2025-11-25 |website=Apple Community}}</ref> This system has since been copied by numerous other players in the media and digital goods sector.

==Background info==
Important terms you'll run into in this article:

*'''[[wikipedia:Sandbox (computer security)|Sandbox]]''': Reduces exposure of the user's device/data to security risks, by reducing what an app is allowed to do.
*'''[https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/Entitlements Entitlements]''': Apple's method of "poking holes" in the sandbox, to give the app more permissions. Some are available to developers, while many are only available to Apple.
*'''[[wikipedia:Digital Markets Act|Digital Markets Act]]''': The European Union's fairly sweeping recent regulations against forcing companies they classify as "gatekeepers" to play nice, giving smaller businesses access to software/hardware features they've historically reserved for their own use.

==In-app purchases==
Apple has been collecting users' credit card numbers since launching the iTunes Store in 2004. The launch of the App Store in 2008, followed by the introduction of in-app purchases (IAPs) in 2009, gave iPhone app developers the opportunity to sell app features to users. The IAP system is provided as a developer framework named [https://developer.apple.com/storekit/ StoreKit]. Apps and their in-app purchases are managed through a dashboard named [https://developer.apple.com/app-store-connect/ App Store Connect]. App sales have eclipsed iTunes Store sales, and are now a primary focus of Apple's Media Services division.

Apple requires any purchase of a digital good or service in an app to use their in-app purchase system. This may seem reasonable because the customer may inevitably call Apple support, demanding a refund for an app they have issues with. Apple would rather give that refund and leave the customer with a positive support experience, than to provide a messy process involving contacting a third-party, whose customer service is likely nowhere near the same experience.

App Store purchase fees are between 15% and 30%. In September 2016, Apple expanded subscriptions to be available to any type of app, also introducing a 15% discount incentive when the user has already subscribed for a year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goode |first=Lauren |date=2 Sep 2016 |title=Apple’s new subscription offerings are now available to App Store developers |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/2/12774758/apple-developers-app-store-new-subscription-rules |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> In November 2020, Apple introduced a reduced 15% fee for app developers with revenue below $1 million per year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centers |first=Josh |date=18 Nov 2020 |title=Apple Drops App Store Commission to 15% for Small Developers |url=https://tidbits.com/2020/11/18/apple-drops-app-store-commission-to-15-for-small-developers/ |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[TidBITS]]}}</ref> For developers above this threshold, and for cases excluded from this program such as for games, the fee is 30%. In the 2008 announcement of the App Store, Apple considered this a reasonable, industry-standard fee. However, the way we use apps has significantly evolved since 2009 - the world has shifted to heavily depend upon on mobile apps, which have also evolved into more complex and sustainable business models than a simple one-time purchase.

[[wikipedia:Stripe, Inc.|Stripe]], a popular platform used for payments on the web, uses a base fee of 2.9% plus a fixed $0.30 in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pricing |url=https://stripe.com/it/pricing |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Stripe]]}}</ref> With add-on services, before considering volume discounts, a Stripe transaction may rather have a cost of 6.4% + $1.10.<ref>Calculated from base fee (2.9% + $0.30) + international card (1.5%) + adaptive pricing (2%) + international payment methods ($0.80), as of January 2025</ref> Stripe has been used by businesses ranging from small online stores, to [[OpenAI]] for ChatGPT Plus. Competing payments services have similar or identical fees to Stripe. '''The in-app purchase system does not provide sufficient value to justify considerably higher fees than alternative payment platforms.'''

The App Store system poorly handles secondary marketplaces of digital services that exist within the primary App Store marketplace, such as Patreon. Apple, however, still requires companies in the business of selling digital services to use this inadequate system. This requires the app to account for Apple's fee, which is significant enough to often warrant increasing prices, and to follow rules even if they do not make sense for the nature of service they are providing. Apple has frequently been found in disputes with such apps. This injects extra complication at no benefit to the marketplace, the creator, or the customer - only to Apple, who has little to no involvement after delivering the initial app download to the user's phone. The significant fee also often drives app developers to consider building their app around an advertising model instead, creating privacy concerns.

Additionally, the 15% small businesses fee discount is judged based on the app's overall turnover, and is not based on individual creators in the app's marketplace. An app that turns over $1 million per year by providing services to creators that individually make less than $1 million per year does not have the opportunity to use the discount.

Apple, often together with Google, use lobbying efforts in the United States and other countries in an attempt to minimize the issues. "ACT | The App Association", pitched as an association of independent small business app developers, is at least 50% funded by Apple, and does not list its claimed 2,000 members.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 Oct 2021 |title=Not a class ACT: the so-called App Association is simply an Apple Association and does NOT represent app developers' interests in fair distribution terms |url=http://www.fosspatents.com/2021/10/not-class-act-so-called-app-association.html |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[FOSS Patents]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Sep 2022 |title=Vast majority of ACT {{!}} The App Association's funding comes from Apple, former employees tell Bloomberg: astroturfing against app developers' interests |url=http://www.fosspatents.com/2022/09/vast-majority-of-act-app-associations.html |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[FOSS Patents]]}}</ref> In March 2024, the United States Department of Justice along with 16 state attorneys-general filed a lawsuit against Apple, including an accusation that the company "extracts more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others".<ref name="doj" /> The future of this lawsuit is unclear as of April 2025.

Despite criticism of Apple forcing their fee into transactions with small businesses and creators on [[#Patreon|Patreon]], [[#Facebook online events|Facebook]], and similar platforms, on 23 January 2025, Apple announced the Advanced Commerce API. It "support[s] developers' evolving business models - such as exceptionally large content catalogs, creator experiences, and subscriptions with optional add-ons".<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 Jan 2025 |title=Introducing the Advanced Commerce API |url=https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=yxy958ya |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Apple Developer]]}}</ref> While positioned as a way for such businesses to save development time and avoid ongoing costs by building on top of Apple's mature payments platform, its use is in fact necessary for these businesses to work within the App Store guidelines, as seen in cases outlined below. The feature requires submitting a description of the app's business model to Apple for approval. This continues a trend of requiring Apple's consent to conduct business in a place users have been trained to expect it.

Given Apple's strong incentives, and a ticking clock as legal pressure builds, it is not hard to find stories from app developers regarding poor experiences with Apple's app review process.

:''This list is extremely incomplete. Please add examples if you know of any.''

===Epic Games===
{{hatnote|See also: [[wikipedia:Epic Games v. Apple|Epic Games v. Apple]] and [[wikipedia:Epic Games v. Google|Epic Games v. Google]]}}

[[Epic Games, Inc.]] is a video game developer and publisher, known for games such as [[Fortnite]] and [[Unreal Tournament]], the [[Unreal Engine]], and the [[Epic Games Store]].

In 2018, Epic Games launched Fortnite on the iOS and Android platforms. The company made the unusual decision to not release the app on the [[Google Play Store]] - rather, it was made available as a standalone [[wikipedia:apk (file format)|Android app package]] file (.apk), which must be installed by following a series of manual steps.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Statt |first=Nick |date=3 Aug 2018 |title=Fortnite for Android will ditch Google Play Store for Epic’s website |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/3/17645982/epic-games-fortnite-android-version-bypass-google-play-store |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> The app was also released on the [[Samsung]] [[Samsung Galaxy Store|Galaxy Store]]. Google offered a $147 million deal for Epic Games to release Fortnite on the Play Store, which the company declined.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Adi |date=9 Nov 2023 |title=Google offered Epic $147 million to launch Fortnite on the Play Store |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/8/23953262/google-epic-fortnite-play-store-investment-antitrust-trial |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>

On 22 April 2020, Fortnite was finally released on the Play Store.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carpenter |first=Nicole |date=22 April 2020 |title=Fortnite available on the Google Play Store for the first time |url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/21/21229930/fortnite-available-on-google-play-android-mobile-devices |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=[[Polygon]]}}</ref> In a statement, the company explained:

<blockquote>
After 18 months of operating Fortnite on Android outside of the Google Play Store, we've come to a basic realization: Google puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage, through technical and business measures such as scary, repetitive security pop-ups for downloaded and updated software, restrictive manufacturer and carrier agreements and dealings, Google public relations characterizing third party software sources as malware, and new efforts such as Google Play Protect to outright block software obtained outside the Google Play store.
</blockquote>

On 13 August 2020, Epic Games launched a campaign against both Apple and Google's app store business practices. The company released app updates on both platforms, introducing a method for purchasing V-Bucks in-game currency at a 20% discount by directly transacting with Epic Games, against the developer rules of both platforms. The platforms responded by removing the game from their storefronts. Epic Games then filed civil antitrust lawsuits against both companies in the Northern District of California.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Statt |first=Nick |date=14 Aug 2020 |title=Epic Games is suing Apple |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/13/21367963/epic-fortnite-legal-complaint-apple-ios-app-store-removal-injunctive-relief |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> The campaign, branded "Free Fortnite", was later extended with lawsuits and complaints in Australia,<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 Nov 2020 |title=Epic Games extends its fight against Apple to Australia |url=https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/freefortnite-australia-press-release |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Epic Games]]}}</ref>, the European Union,<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Feb 2021 |title=Epic Game Files EU Antitrust Complaint Against Apple |url=https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/epic-games-files-eu-antitrust-complaint-against-apple |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Epic Games]]}}</ref> and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 Mar 2021 |title=Epic Games files complaint to support CMA Apple investigation |url=https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/epic-games-files-complaint-to-support-cma-apple-investigation |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Epic Games]]}}</ref>

On 11 September 2021, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers decided on the case. While the lawsuit against Apple failed on 9 of 10 counts, Rogers ruled against Apple's use of "anti-steering" - their strategies of preventing the user from being "steered" to a third-party storefront for payment processing, placing a permanent injunction on this behavior.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brandon |first=Russell |date=11 Sep 2021 |title=Apple must allow other forms of in-app purchase, rules judge in Epic v. Apple |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/10/22662320/epic-apple-ruling-injunction-judge-court-app-store |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> Despite the case mostly failing, the discovery process provided significant insight into Apple's decisions around App Store policies, including decisions made in major app review disputes, and in one case, executive Phil Schiller arguing to reduce the fee from 30%.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gurman |first=Mark |date=4 May 2021 |title=Apple’s Schiller Floated Cutting App Store Fees a Decade Ago |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-03/apple-s-schiller-floated-cutting-app-store-fees-a-decade-ago |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=[[Bloomberg]]}}</ref>

Epic Games and Apple both appealed the decision. 35 state attorneys-general, the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] (EFF), [[Microsoft]], among others filed amicus briefs in support of Epic Games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=29 Jan 2022 |title=Epic largely lost to Apple, but 35 states are now backing its fight in a higher court |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/28/22907106/epic-games-v-apple-amicus-briefs-states-eff-microsoft-appeal |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>

On 11 December 2023, the jury in the case against Google decided on all 11 counts in favor of Epic Games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bensinger |first=Greg |last2=Scarcella |first2=Mike |date=13 Dec 2023 |title=Epic Games wins antitrust case against Google over Play app store |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/google-epic-games-face-off-app-antitrust-trial-nears-end-2023-12-11/ |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

On 1 May 2025, Rogers found that Apple willfully chose to not comply with the 2021 injunction, commenting "that it thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=1 May 2025 |title=A judge just blew up Apple’s control of the App Store |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/659246/apple-epic-app-store-judge-ruling-control |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>

===Facebook online events===
In August 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook introduced the ability for small businesses to accept an entrance fee for events. Previously, Facebook would only act as a way to RSVP for the event - the organizer must use a third-party event ticketing system to collect fees. The company pledged to not collect any fee on event sales "until 2023".<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 Aug 2020 |title=Paid Online Events for Small Business Recovery |url=https://about.fb.com/news/2020/08/paid-online-events/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Meta]]}}</ref>

Apple disagreed, requiring the feature to use the in-app purchases system. This introduced Apple's 30% fee. As this increases the price the user pays, with no benefit to the small business the user intended to support, the fee was displayed as a line item in checkout. Apple did not accept this disclosure of the fee, referring to it as "irrelevant".<ref name="facebook" /> Facebook was allowed to compromise on displaying the fee, but ''without'' indicating that it is specifically an App Store fee.

===HEY===
HEY.com is a paid webmail provider launched in June 2020 by long-time software company [[wikipedia:37signals|37signals]], specializing in inbox organization tools.

After successfully launching the initial version of the app on the App Store, the company announced that an update was rejected due to a complaint about the business model. The app did not intend to support in-app purchases - instead, the user is expected to already have an account with the service. Apple did not like this arrangement, and demanded the company build an in-app subscription option. The company argued that they are being held to a different set of rules than apps such as [[Netflix, Inc.|Netflix]], whose app does not provide any way to purchase a subscription.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kastrenakes |first=Jacob |date=17 Jun 2020 |title=Hey.com exec says Apple is acting like ‘gangsters,’ rejecting App Store updates and demanding cut of sales |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/16/21293419/hey-apple-rejection-ios-app-store-dhh-gangsters-antitrust |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> After a suggestion from Apple executive Phil Schiller in the media, HEY introduced a 14 day free trial mode, which was approved.<ref>https://www.hey.com/apple/path/</ref><ref>https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/18/interview-apples-schiller-says-position-on-hey-app-is-unchanged-and-no-rules-changes-are-imminent/</ref>

===Patreon===
In August 2024, [[Patreon]] announced a change in arrangement with Apple for its App Store app. From November 2024, subscriptions started from the iOS app would be required to use the in-app purchase system, bypassing Patreon's own long-standing payments practices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 Aug 2024 |title=Apple’s requirements are about to hit creators and fans on Patreon. Here’s what you need to know. |url=https://news.patreon.com/articles/understanding-apple-requirements-for-patreon |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Patreon]]}}</ref><ref name="patreon" /> This change does not affect the Android app.

By forcing Patreon out of the payments pipeline, certain payment models are no longer available to users of Patreon's iOS app. Creators who rely on the "per-creation" payment model, as opposed to the standard "per-month", can no longer be subscribed to from the app. The app is also not able to support the "first-of-the-month" model, where payments from all subscribers are collected on the first day of the month, rather than every 30 days since each member's day of subscription. The price must also be rounded to a price tier supported by Apple.

Patreon provides creators with the choice to increase their prices by 30% in the iOS app, or to keep the same prices but forfeit 30% to Apple. Creators frequently remind potential supporters to not use the Patreon iOS app, adding extra inconvenience to those wanting to support the work of small creators.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="400px">
File:Patreon iOS app pricing options - fee on top.png|"Maintain earnings and cover Apple's fee by increasing prices in iOS app" (Recommended)
File:Patreon iOS app pricing options - absorb fee.png|"Keep prices in the iOS app the same and cover Apple's fee yourself"
</gallery>

A similar case occurred with the app Fanhouse in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=@jasminericegirl |date=9 Jun 2021 |title=#fuckapple, a thread I cofounded @fanhouseapp 8 months ago to empower creators to monetize their content. We pay creators 90% of earnings. Now, Apple is threatening to remove Fanhouse from the app store unless we give them 30% of creator earnings. This is theft and exploitation. |url=https://x.com/jasminericegirl/status/1402691047940100100 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[X]]}}</ref>

===Twitter===
In August 2021, [[Twitter]] introduced a feature named Super Follows (now Subscriptions), in which a user can pay a subscription fee to access more of a creator's content. For each user who enables Subscriptions, Twitter must submit a new in-app purchase SKU to the App Store, which will become available with the next update to the app.<ref>{{Cite web |last=@wongmjane |date=2 Sep 2021 |title=Each Super Follow is an In-App Purchase on the App Store, but because there are too many IAPs for the Twitter app, the App Store only shows 10 instead of the full list |url=https://x.com/wongmjane/status/1433372120080261120 |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[X]]}}</ref> This, of course, is subject to the 30% fee. At the time of writing in January 2025, viewing the App Store listing reveals Elon Musk's $4.00 subscription as the fourth most popular IAP item.

==Notarization==
Since 2015, Apple expects all Mac apps to be "notarized". This is a preliminary, automated malware check, which upon passing, provides a notary certificate that gets "stapled" to the app. Apple's explanation:

<blockquote>
Notarization of macOS software is not App Review. The Apple notary service is an automated system that scans your software for malicious content, checks for code-signing issues, and returns the results to you quickly. If there are no issues, the notary service generates a ticket for you to staple to your software; the notary service also publishes that ticket online where Gatekeeper can find it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notarizing macOS software before distribution |url=https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing-macos-software-before-distribution |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Apple Developer]]}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Whether this is actually a better approach than used by Windows antivirus, where they find out about new malware samples only when they end up on a user's computer, is a separate topic.

To comply with the DMA's regulations on app marketplaces, Apple created a new channel of releasing apps outside of the iOS App Store. Apps go through a notarization process. But the process is definitely ''not'' notarization. The name is intentionally being abused, by contrast to notarization on macOS, to make you believe it is something other than the existing App Review system. Despite the pain some developers and users have with it, notarization on macOS has always been considered a net positive. It made sense to take advantage of its reputation for the entirely different "notarization" on iOS.

See for yourself - view the [https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/ App Review Guidelines] and tick "Show Notarization Review Guidelines Only". While most rules are knocked out by this, a good number of them are still in place. These apps are still reviewed and tested by the App Review team, must have a full product listing in App Store Connect, and can be outright rejected - all in the same way as an App Store app.

By contrast, all that is required for notarization on macOS is for your app to not be malware. You submit it to an automated system that approves it within minutes. '''You don't need to convince Apple your app is worthy of existing on their platform.'''

The point of macOS notarization is that Apple has a record of all binaries that are intended for wide distribution on macOS, and can review them both in advance and on a regular basis for known malware/common malware patterns. Say a malware app manages to initially get through, when Apple finds out, they can go back in the notary records and find every sample of that malware to analyze and block. This is purely a technical process, managed by skilled security researchers, while iOS app review and "notarization" is a business process, managed by workers who have been given a checklist of violations to look for.

Apple is retaining complete control over what's allowed to run on iOS. On macOS, you can choose to run apps that have not been notarized (even though the process to bypass the warning is intentionally difficult). On iOS, you never get even that option. What Apple created is the App Store but with more steps. It still goes on the App Store, just hidden so it can only be installed by the third-party store it's tied to.

*Mysk: "iOS should enable alternative marketplaces to add their own links when users share their apps. Links still point to the App Store and if the app is not available there, this happens."<ref>{{Cite web |last=@mysk_co |date=28 Jun 2024 |title=iOS should enable alternative marketplaces to add their own links when users share their apps. Links still point to the App Store and if the app is not available there, this happens: |url=https://x.com/mysk_co/status/1806638308455256242 |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[X]]}}</ref>

==JIT==
The following paragraph is highly technical, basically: JIT allows for extremely fast programs/apps and due to its fast nature it's used almost everywhere, and is a massive improvement over older code interpreters.

[[wikipedia:Just-in-time compilation|JIT]], which stands for Just-In-Time, is a method of code execution where code, instead of being compiled before being distributed (like an EXE), gets compiled into machine code in real time right before being executed. This method of code execution allows for much faster website loading times, faster emulation, faster program execution (with programs written in JavaScript, Python, Lua...) compared to interpreters, which instead translates code into machine code line by line, which is much, much slower; JIT also employs many more optimization techniques meant to improve performance.

Safari is allowed to use JIT to compile code from any site, same with Apple's [https://apps.apple.com/app/swift-playgrounds/id908519492 Playgrounds] app on iPad. Playgrounds bundles Apple's [[wikipedia:Swift (programming language)|Swift]] compiler, and shares backend code with the version of Playgrounds found in [[wikipedia:Xcode|Xcode]].

Third-party apps like Pythonista (a Python IDE), emulators like Delta and UTM and terminal environments like iSH are not allowed to use JIT, instead having to interpret code, which comes with serious performance degradation and is more computationally expensive, potentially draining more battery.

An example of apps being heavily affected by this restriction is UTM. UTM is a port of [[wikipedia:QEMU|QEMU]] for iOS, iPadOS and MacOS, allowing users to create [[wikipedia:Virtual_machine|VMs]] that can run various OSes, for example Microsoft Windows. The iPhone's hardware capable enough to emulate various modern OSes at full speed, but due to Apple's JIT limitation, the team behind UTM had to create UTM SE (slow edition) that doesn't require JIT, but is nowhere near as fast as UTM with JIT, only being capable of running MS-DOS and derivatives at acceptable speeds. While methods that enable JIT for apps other than Safari and Playgrounds exist (some currently working on iOS 18.5, like [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stikdebug/id6744045754 StikDebug]), Apple does not allow the use of JIT in notarized apps, meaning that apps that support JIT will have to be sideloaded, which comes with its own set of restrictions.

In the EU, Apple gave web browsers permission to use rendering and JavaScript engines other than the built-in with Apple WebKit/JavaScriptCore, with the option for JS engines to use JIT. The browser still has to be approved by Apple for an entitlement, and then must work within APIs provided by Apple for it. But, as of January 2025, no browsers that use different engines than the built-in ones have been released, mainly due to arbitrarily imposed restrictions, meant to discourage the usage and development of third-party engines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mozilla says Apple’s new browser rules are ‘as painful as possible’ for Firefox |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/26/24052067/mozilla-apple-ios-browser-rules-firefox |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>

However, Apple still does not allow different engines outside of the EU, with or without JIT support.<ref>{{Cite web |title=App Review Guidelines |url=https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#2.5.6 |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Apple Developer]]}}</ref>

==Sandbox==
Sandboxing is a powerful security feature used on all modern platforms, from Windows to iOS, and it's used because most programs need only a few basic permissions. While sandboxing is a great security measure, sometimes users may want to develop or create programs that run outside of the sandbox, with less restrictions. When a program needs extra permissions outside of what the sandbox normally allows, the user is prompted with a permission prompt, useful when some very basic programs (like a flashlight app) need access to sensitive information like contacts.

As established in previous sections, a program can be given more access to features of the system using entitlements. These come in different types:

*'''Completely safe''': Entitlements any developer can opt into, with little to no risk.
*'''Approval required''': Entitlements that might be more of a security risk to allow, e.g. giving considerably wider access to the system, or that Apple simply doesn't want to hand out to just ''anyone'' for competitive reasons. The developer must submit a request to Apple with evidence of why they need the entitlement.
*'''Private''': Entitlements that are never allowed for any app developer to use. Many of these are reasonably fenced off because they handle user data that is very risky, or bypasses permission prompts and so on, but can just as well also be guarding features Apple wants to keep to itself.

There have been [https://gizmodo.com/researchers-uber-s-ios-app-had-secret-permissions-that-1819177235 exceptions] where Apple quietly gave a company access to private entitlements anyway, raising eyebrows.

On iOS, you also can't be ''more'' secure than the default, strictest sandbox. On macOS, there are several entitlements you must declare to decide whether you're allowed to access certain types of user data at all. Android used this design from the very start - you can't even do fundamental things like access the internet without declaring it in your manifest. It makes it very explicit what the app's intentions are.

iOS has one sandbox used by all App Store apps. System apps, and App Store apps developed by Apple, are allowed to expand or reduce their sandbox permissions as needed. Third-party apps do not get the right to expand or reduce their sandbox permissions at all. This is clearly less secure. To take the example of Playgrounds again, while it's allowed to run your code from a separate process executing in an ultra locked down sandbox with very few permissions, competing apps such as Pythonista must run your code in the same sandbox and address space as the main app process. The Python interpreter crashing would therefore crash the entire app, possibly losing work. In the worst case, a vulnerability in third-party code could give access to all data stored by/accessible to the app. For example, it would be a nightmare if you can tap the wrong link in Safari and have a hacker easily steal your cookies from other websites. If that third-party code could run in its own limited sandbox, the risk is significantly reduced.

The only known workaround is to execute the code via JavaScript, as Apple's JavaScriptCore engine runs in a heavily sandboxed process. This requires you to port the code to JS, which may be a lot of work, or just not viable. You wouldn't want to run the Python interpreter inside JavaScript - the performance would be terrible!

==In-app browsers==
Safari's in-app browser, that is the minimal version you get when tapping a link from social media, uses an entirely separate data store for each app. The in-app browser isn't aware of cookies in the "full" Safari app, or any other app, and doesn't support Safari extensions. Apple claimed this was to protect malicious apps from stealing or setting cookies in Safari without your knowledge, which is a fair argument, but it's hard to not notice that it makes web browsing inconvenient, encouraging users to install native apps, where they can make transactions through Apple.<ref>{{Cite web |last=@whitehatguy |date=12 Jun 2017 |title=Impact of iOS 11 no longer providing shared cookies between Safari, Safari View Controller instances |url=https://github.com/openid/AppAuth-iOS/issues/120 |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[GitHub]]}}</ref>

This also means your browsing in the in-app browser is just forgotten - there's no history menu, and it doesn't get logged to the history in the full Safari app either. Good luck recalling that article you read a few weeks ago.

==See also==
*[https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/Eligibility Eligibility]
*Posts written by an author of this article:
**[https://adamdemasi.com/2024/04/19/app-marketplace-experience.html The iOS 17.4 app marketplace flow is a disaster]
**[https://adamdemasi.com/2024/04/20/ios-eligibility.html How I tricked iOS into giving me EU DMA features]
**[https://adamdemasi.com/2024/04/23/ios-eligibility-features.html Features controlled by iOS 17.4's eligibility system]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Apple App Store]]

Article suggestions

2025-11-25T20:07:38Z

Mallveo: removed suggestion to work on

This page is dedicated towards providing a communal list for users to submit potential articles to feature on the wiki, and to give editors inspiration on what pages they might want to add to the wiki. If you create an article based on an entry from this list, or see that someone else has done so, please make sure to delete the row from this page in order to prevent confusion.

Sources should be inserted within the 'refs' section of the table. If using the visual editor, take advantage of '<nowiki/>'''insert reference'''<nowiki/>' via ''''ctrl + shift + k'''<nowiki/>' so that the sources are quick to add to future articles. If you are using the source editor, feel free to copy and paste the formatting from other correctly formatted references on the page. The more sources you include with an article idea, the more likely it is that others will pick the article idea up and run with it, so please attempt to include a good variety of descriptive sources!

Please take note of the wiki's [[Consumer Rights Wiki:Inclusion guidelines|Inclusion criteria]] when submitting article suggestions. If you see article suggestions here which do not fit the Wiki, feel free to remove them, leaving your reasoning in an edit note.

If you are an editor looking for further inspiration to write an article, you can also check out the [[Louis Rossmann - Video Directory|Louis Rossmann video directory]] for a good collection of potential articles.

==Example==
Below is an example of what an entry should appear as:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Company
!Summary of Incident
!Refs
|-
|[[Nintendo]]
|In 2025, the company Nintendo stripped Switch 2 consoles that used the MIG switch cartridge of all online functionality
|<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Scattered Brain |date=Jun 16, 2025 |title=Soo... Nintendo banned my Switch 2 (Don't try the MIG Switch!) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExgYTA18_vo&t=656s |access-date=Jun 18, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=Jun 17, 2025 |title=Switch 2 users report online console bans after running personal game “backups” |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/06/playing-personal-game-backups-could-get-your-switch-2-banned-by-nintendo/ |access-date=Jun 19, 2025 |work=Ars Technica}}</ref>
|}

==List of incidents not yet covered==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Company
!Summary of Incident
!Refs
|-
|[[ABC Financial Services]]
|Manages memberships and recurring service subscriptions for other companies. Prevents customers from being able to cancel a service by locking them into a never-ending cycle of auto renewals, and not allowing the customer to opt out of auto renewal.
|-
|Affinity / Canva
|Canva purchases Serif; the owner of perpetual license design software Affinity Publisher, Designer, and Photo on March 26th 2024. Provides a pledge to assure users that Canva will not "ruin" the suite. In October 2025, Affinity users are locked out of the community forum for a new "Creative Freedom" announcement on October 30th 2025. Complete radio silence for a whole month while they tease long term users on Twitter and Discord. Finally on October 30th 2025, the new Affinity software is announced as "free". Instead, all creative professionals that used the original software are forced to create a new Canva account to access the new Affinity and thus agree to Canva's ToS<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-10-30 |title=Canva Terms of Use |url=https://www.canva.com/policies/terms-of-use/ |url-status=live |website=Canva Legal Trust Center}}</ref>. Affinity redirects the pledge page to an announcement for the new software, effectively burying the original pledge<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2024-03-27 |title=The Affinity and Canva Pledge |url=https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/press/newsroom/affinity-and-canva-pledge |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251002083749/https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/press/newsroom/affinity-and-canva-pledge/ |archive-date=2025-10-02 |website=web.archive.org}}</ref>. Questions about Canva now being able to monetize the work of professionals to train their own AI models sold to Canva users are left unanswered. Free, but at what cost?
EDIT: Initial article has been written but needs more work, citation, and verification. [[Canva adds arbitration clause for future Affinity Studio users|See this article here]].
|<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />
|-
|[[Apple]]
|$17 000 Apple Watch 18 karat gold edition out of support only 8 years after its introduction (not end of sale!). This means no software support, and, crucially, no repair or replacement parts. If the battery dies, the watch is but a paperweight.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple will no longer fix the $17,000 gold Apple Watch |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/2/23900158/apple-watch-edition-gold-2015-obsolete-unsupported-beyonce |website=The Verge}}</ref>
|-
|Apple, Beats
|No support for Powerbeats (4th generation) despite the headphones being under 5 years from when Apple last distributed the product for sale. The product is not listed as discontinued or vintage, and by Apple's own guidelines, should be eligible for replacement parts and repair. OEM replacement eartips cannot be purchased for any Beats earphones.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty |url=https://support.apple.com/en-us/102772 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Beats Repair and Service |url=https://support.apple.com/beats/repair |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple store search for eartips |url=https://www.apple.com/us/search/eartips?src=alp |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-18}}</ref>
|-
|Atlassian
|Users forced from on-premise to cloud only subscriptions
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ascend to the cloud: The next chapter for Atlassian and our customers |url=https://www.atlassian.com/blog/announcements/atlassian-ascend}}</ref>
|-
|[[Axon]]
|Tazers sold with lease agreement that makes purchase effectively a subscription.
|[https://norwoodrecord.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/114832579/norwood_record_pages_1_to_12__4sep2025.pdf <nowiki>[69]</nowiki>]
|-
|[[Cloudary Holdings Limited / Webnovel]]
|Terms of service with binding Arbitration.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Webnovel ToS |url=https://www.webnovel.com/terms_of_service}}</ref>
|-
|Devolo
|Devolo switches off servers and removes their app from stores for their "Home Control" system, thus severely reducing the functionality of their devices (apparently Z-Wave-based).
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=IT-News für Profis |url=https://www.golem.de/news/weiterbetrieb-verursacht-weitere-kosten-devolo-macht-smart-home-system-zum-grossteil-unbrauchbar-2508-199409.html |website=Golem |language=de}}</ref>
|-
|Dell and HP
|HP and Dell have disabled HEVC hardware encoding and ecoding support built into their laptops’ CPUs using both Intel and AMD processors.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harding |first=Scharon |date=2025-11-21 |title=HP and Dell disable HEVC support built into their laptops’ CPUs |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/hp-and-dell-disable-hevc-support-built-into-their-laptops-cpus/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251121083438/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/hp-and-dell-disable-hevc-support-built-into-their-laptops-cpus/ |archive-date=2025-11-21 |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=Ars Technica}}</ref>
|-
|E621
|Terms of service that require agreement to forced arbitration to use the website.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-02 |title=E621 |url=https://e621.net/ |url-status=live |website=E621}}</ref>
|-
|EcoVac
|Vacuum cleaner robots produced by company 'EcoVac' were found vulnerable to hacking over bluetooth allowing for remote control and access to camera feed. Security researcher Dennis Giese notified the company in December of 2023. In August of 2024, the issue was described by the company as "extremely rare in typical user environments and require specialized hacking tools and physical access to the device."
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fell |first=Julian |date=2024-10-04 |title=We hacked a robot vacuum — and could watch live through its camera - ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-04/robot-vacuum-hacked-photos-camera-audio/104414020 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Franceschi-Bicchierai |first=Lorenzo |date=2024-08-09 |title=Ecovacs home robots can be hacked to spy on their owners, researchers say {{!}} TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/09/ecovacs-home-robots-can-be-hacked-to-spy-on-their-owners-researchers-say/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Franceschi-Bicchierai |first=Lorenzo |date=2024-08-15 |title=Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on X: "Finally, Ecovacs responds to the researchers' findings, saying it won't fix the bugs. |url=https://x.com/lorenzofb/status/1823774980460388675}}</ref>
|-
|[[Elegoo Centauri Carbon|Elegoo]]
|The Elegoo Centauri Carbon 3d printer has been proven to use open source Klipper software which requires them to publish their changes to the code.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-28 |title=PSA: Elegoo Centauri Carbon & GPL Compliance |url=https://freethecode.lol/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=PSA: Elegoo Centauri Carbon & GPL Compliance}}</ref>
|-
|[[Embodied]]
|This is case of "software tethering". Embodied's $799 companion robot Moxie permanently shut down once the company decided to shut down cloud services. According to Embodied's own website "Moxie relies on cloud connectivity for its core features, and it will not function once services end ... Our Terms of Service specify that services may be terminated at any time without prior notice."
|<ref>{{Cite news |last=Notopoulos |first=Katie |date=2024-12-11 |title=They bought an $800 AI robot for their kids. Now the company is shutting down — and children are having to say goodbye. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/moxie-robot-toy-shutting-down-kids-embodied-goodbye-2024-12?op=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250816193431/https://www.businessinsider.com/moxie-robot-toy-shutting-down-kids-embodied-goodbye-2024-12?op=1 |archive-date=2025-08-16 |access-date=2025-08-16 |work=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Closing FAQs – Moxie Robot |url=https://moxierobot.com/pages/closing-faqs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126054436/https://moxierobot.com/pages/closing-faqs |archive-date=2024-11-26 |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=moxierobot.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Degeurin |first=Mack |date=2024-12-10 |title=‘I love you… goodbye:’ What will happen when this companion robot suddenly dies? |url=https://www.popsci.com/technology/moxie-robot-offline/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212035257/https://www.popsci.com/technology/moxie-robot-offline/ |archive-date=2024-12-12 |access-date=2025-08-16 |work=Popular Science}}</ref>
|-
|Foxit Reader
|Updater uses dark pattern to trick unsuspecting users into installing a trial version of their paid product. The checkbox is enabled again by default with each update in the hope that the user misses it by accident at some point.
|
|-
|[[Google]]
|The shutdown of game streaming service Google Stadia on Jan 19th 2023 happened relatively gracefully, with remaining subscriptions refunded and further purchases made impossible. Controllers bought by consumers were offered a conversion process that repurposed them for use as generic Bluetooth game controllers, although the official conversion method at this time is actively provided by Google in form of a webpage and cannot be archived from that state, and on top of that only works in Chrome; at the time of writing the conversion page is expected to remain until December 31st 2025, and this is the date set by a second deadline extension. No official archivable means of conversion are offered at this time.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thank you for playing with us. Stadia was shut down on January 18, 2023. |url=https://stadia.google.com/gg/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-20 |website=Stadia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-08 |title=Stadia Announcement FAQ |url=https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/12790109 |url-status=live |website=Stadia Help}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mustafa |first=Mahmoud |date=2024-12-10 |title=You now have one extra year to update your Stadia Controller’s firmware |url=https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/mustafa-mahmoud/you-now-have-one-extra-year-to-update-your-stadia-controllers-firmware/ |website=KitGuru.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Stadia Bluetooth mode |url=https://stadia.google.com/controller/index_en_GB.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-20 |website=Stadia}}</ref>
|-
|[[Google Chromecast]]
|Chromecast has transitioned from a standalone product to one that requires the Google Home app for setup and control. This change prevents customers who either don't own a smartphone or prefer not to use the app from accessing their Chromecast devices. As a result, certain televisions—such as the Caixon EC43S1UA, which relied on built-in Chromecast functionality—can no longer be used as intended. This effectively removes a key feature from a product that was already purchased, diminishing its value or rendering it unusable altogether.
|
|-
|Google TLS Changes
|Google's new requirements to certificate authorities require separate authority/signing chains to be used to issue Server Authentication and Client Authentication certificates. Therefore, starting 11 February 2026, Let's Encrypt will no longer include the Client Authentication EKU on default certificates
|
|-
|Google
|Google apparently plans to reduce the interval of publishing source code of security patches they consider non-critical. This is another blow to the custom ROM community.
Right now we don't have these incidents organised chronologically, maybe we should have a table with a timeline of measures Google takes to enshittify and close down Android (more APIs moved to Play Services, Developer verification, withholding AOSP device trees for Pixel devices to mess with Graphene OS, now delayed source code disclosure). What's worst, they always cite safety as a reason.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exclusive: Google wants to make Android phones safer by switching to ‘risk-based’ security updates |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/android-risk-based-security-updates-3597466/}}</ref>
|-
|Google, Mozilla, Apple, Microsoft, but largely Google-led
|Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari are removing XSLT 1.0 support, which could break critical parts of government's websites worldwide<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dimant |first=Dimitrii "Mamut" |date=2025-08-10 |title=XSLT removal will break multiple government and regulatory sites across the world #11582 |url=https://github.com/whatwg/html/issues/11582 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-25 |website=Github (specifically the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group's HTML standards repo, controlled by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft and Apple)}}</ref>. There are valid security reasons for them to want to stop supporting this 1999-era standard, however they have had 26+ years to update to a newer standard (such as the 2017-era 3.1 standard, which is backwards compatible and would allow these sites to continue to work<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-21 |title="XML Path Language (XPath) 3.1: W3C Recommendation 21 March 2017" |url=https://www.w3.org/TR/xpath-31/ |url-status=live |website=W3C}}</ref>). The single unpaid developer maintaining these libraries has more or less retired after getting flooded with impossible to satisfy security requests from these companies<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wellnhoffer |first=Nick |date=2025-05-08 |title=Triaging security issues reported by third parties |url=https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libxml2/-/issues/913 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-25 |website=gitlab.gnome.org}}</ref>. There is an existing project called XRUST to implement the 3.1 standard<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-09 |title=XRust: XPath, XQuery, and XSLT for Rust |url=https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/Rust/markup-rs/xrust |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=gitlab.gnome.org}}</ref>, which is 2/3rds of the way through supporting all the features of 1.0 - the XSLT part fully supports all the 1.0 features at this point. XSLT is part of the W3C Consortium's open web standards for formatting and presenting XML, and is also how RSS works, so RSS feeds would stop working as well, disrupting the livelihoods of podcasters<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rijo |first=Luis |date=2025-08-20 |title=Google targets RSS feeds in new XSLT removal proposal |url=https://ppc.land/google-targets-rss-feeds-in-new-xslt-removal-proposal/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=PPC-Land}}</ref>. This has led to questions of who owns the web - the public (including the government) who paid for and laid down the highways / web infrastructure - or a handful of large corporations? <ref>{{Cite web |last=Branscombe |first=Mary |date=2025-09-01 |title=XSLT Debate Leads to Bigger Questions of Web Governance |url=https://thenewstack.io/xslt-debate-leads-to-bigger-questions-of-web-governance/ |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=The New Stack}}</ref>
|
|-
|[[GoPro]] Hero 12
|GoPro Hero 12 requires the GoPro app to be installed before you can use the camera. Many currently used devices are not compatible with the app, therefore making use of the camera difficult to impossible for new owners or upon camera factory reset. There's also the question of what data the app collects and whether it requires login and or camera activation.
|
|-
|[[H&R Block]]
|Marketing paid products as free, deleting users' tax data upon downgrading to free versions, and forcing users to contact support to get access to the free version of the tax filing software. FTC alleges coercive and obstructive techniques are used to make users pay for services they don't need as well.
|
|-
|[[Hikvision]]
|Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer complicit in Uighur genocide which used to advertise recognition of praying and ramadan fasting among its selling points. Similarly to [[Flock license plate readers|Flock]], they are in use world wide and likely feed directly into the Chinese government's surveillance infrastructure and could conceivably be used to find dissidents world-wide. Recently, [https://netzpolitik.org/2025/hikvision-hersteller-der-hamburger-ki-ueberwachungskameras-ist-fuer-menschenrechtsverletzungen-bekannt/ the city of Hamburg has installed them] ([https://netzpolitik-org.translate.goog/2025/hikvision-hersteller-der-hamburger-ki-ueberwachungskameras-ist-fuer-menschenrechtsverletzungen-bekannt/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp Google Translate Version in English]).
|
|-
|[[Internet radios]]
|I'd like a page where I can share information about internet radios "openness." Few allow you to enter a radio station's URL (which I would consider the least intrusive option). Most depend on third-party websites or apps; [https://www.sangean.com/uk/blog/149 some of which have already bricked devices].
|
|-
|[[IPVideo Corporation]] (owned by [[Motorola]])
|Manufacturer of surveillance hardware. The notable example that brought them to my attention is the Halo 3C/3C-PC Smart Sensor, which is deployed in places such as school bathrooms and subsidized/social housing. This system has a variety of sensors on it, from air quality ones (for detecting smoking/vape usage) all the way to microphones (ostensibly for audio analysis to identify aggression and gunshots, without the capability to stream the audio elsewhere, but this not a limitation built into the hardware and could be changed by a firmware update).
|<ref>{{Cite_web |last=Reynaldo |last2=nyx |name-list-style=amp |date=2025-10-10 |title=DEF CON 33 - Unmasking the Snitch Puck: IoT surveillance tech in the school bathroom |url=https://youtu.be/WCnojaEpF2I |publisher=DEF CON}}</ref><ref>{{Cite_web |access-date=2025-10-26 |url=https://www.pelco.com/sensors |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250922000017/https://www.pelco.com/sensors |archive-date=2025-09-22 |title=HALO Smart Sensor Suite |website=PELCO}}</ref>
|-
|[[itch.io]], [[Night School Studios]], [[Netflix]]
|In September 2024, users who purchased Oxenfree on itch.io were warned that the game was going to be pulled from the platform on October 1st. Consumers would not be able to download the installers after this date, so they would lose access unless they had them backed up. Users speculated that Netflix, the parent company of the development studio, had ordered the move; however, no response from Netflix or the developers was ever published. This is particularly notable because it is against itch.io's terms of service: "Users shall retain a license to this content even after the content is removed from the Service."
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=itch corp |date=15 Apr 2023 |title=itch.io Terms of Service |url=https://itch.io/docs/legal/terms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907004719/https://itch.io/docs/legal/terms |archive-date=7 Sep 2024 |access-date=27 Jun 2025 |website=itch.io}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |last=ShawnS |date=31 Jan 2025 |title=OXENFREE |url=https://delistedgames.com/oxenfree/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321070400/https://delistedgames.com/oxenfree/ |archive-date=21 Mar 2025 |access-date=27 Jun 2025 |website=Delisted Games}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |last=Colp |first=Tyler |date=9 Sep 2024 |title=Another reminder that your digital library isn't forever: Oxenfree will be completely removed from Itch.io next month |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/another-reminder-that-your-digital-library-isn-t-forever-oxenfree-will-be-completely-removed-from-itch-io-next-month/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250523111125/https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/another-reminder-that-your-digital-library-isn-t-forever-oxenfree-will-be-completely-removed-from-itch-io-next-month/ |archive-date=23 May 2025 |access-date=27 Jun 2025 |website=PC Gamer}}</ref>
|-
|[[The Japan Times|Japan Times, The]]
|The Japan Times uses DMCA to take down an open source study resource for Genki and Quartet workbooks.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clydesdale |first=Seth |date=2025-09-11 |title=Important Information Regarding Genki and Quartet Study Resources |url=https://ko-fi.com/post/Important-Information-Regarding-Genki-and-Quartet-D1D21L4B1S}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Update Regarding Genki and Quartet Study Resources DMCA Situation |url=https://ko-fi.com/post/Update-Regarding-Genki-and-Quartet-Study-Resources-Y8Y21M1F5E}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-03 |title=All Exercises for Genki/Quartet Study Resources Have Been Removed |url=https://ko-fi.com/post/All-Exercises-for-GenkiQuartet-Study-Resources-Wi-R6R81M8LLN}}</ref>
|-
|LBRY Foundation, Odysee
|Community first decentralization & Odysseys plan to enable censorship by switching away from the opensource LBRY network.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=The LBRY Foundation |url=https://lbry.org/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-08 |quote=The LBRY community invites everyone to join us in building a more free and open way to share content and information online.}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Watson |first=RT |date=6 Jun 2024 |title=Decentralized YouTube alternative Odysee acquired by Forward Research despite content concerns |url=https://www.theblock.co/post/298888/decentralized-youtube-alternative-odysee-acquired-by-forward-research-despite-content-concerns |url-status=live |access-date=16 Aug 2025 |work=The Block}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Li |first=Jun |last2=Grintsvayg |first2=Alex |last3=Kauffman |first3=Jeremy |last4=Fleming |first4=Charles |date=2020 |title=LBRY: A Blockchain-Based Decentralized Digital Content Marketplace |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9126007 |journal=2020 IEEE International Conference on Decentralized Applications and Infrastructures (DAPPS) |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=IEEE |doi=10.1109/DAPPS49028.2020.00005 |isbn=978-1-7281-6978-1 |via=IEEE Xplore}}</ref>
|-
|[[Lowe's]]
|Lowe's uses flock cameras and other AI powered cameras to collect data and build a profile on "prospective, current, or former Lowe's customers". Their cameras point away from their stores.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koebler |first=Jason |date=6 Aug 2025 |title=Home Depot and Lowe's Share Data From Hundreds of AI Cameras With Cops |url=https://www.404media.co/home-depot-and-lowes-share-data-from-hundreds-of-ai-cameras-with-cops/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/n6mTn |archive-date=7 Aug 2025 |access-date=15 Sep 2025 |website=404 Media}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 Aug 2025 |title=Lowe’s U.S. Privacy Statement |url=https://www.lowes.com/l/about/privacy-and-security-statement |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/eGh91 |archive-date=5 Aug 2025 |access-date=15 Sep 2025 |website=Lowe's}}</ref>
|-
|McDonald's/Taylor
|McDonald's US mandates which ice cream machine has to be used by franchise licensees. The company that makes these machines uses deliberately obfuscated error codes to force restaurant owners to use their expensive tech service to fix them and reset the machines. The company makes more money from these "repairs" support than with actual sales. Not strictly end consumer, but the pattern warrants documenting imo.
A similar problem exists with Doremi (Dolby) cinema projectors where their DRM leads to a ridiculous number of actions breaking the so-called "marriage" (projector-media block unity), requiring a costly technician to reset it. This one needs sources researched, though, as I don't have one on hand.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken and How To Fix Them |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uCpY3tFTIA}}</ref>
|-
|[[Meta]]/[[Facebook]], [[Yandex]]
|Automatic opt-in of user-generated content being used for the purposes of training AI.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Borgesius |first=Frederik |date=Apr 24, 2025 |title=Post on akademienl.social |url=https://akademienl.social/@Frederik_Borgesius/114392662340468118 |access-date=Jun 25, 2025 |website=akademienl.social}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=Apr 24, 2025 |title=AP: kom nu in actie als je niet wil dat Meta AI traint met jouw data |url=https://autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/actueel/ap-kom-nu-in-actie-als-je-niet-wil-dat-meta-ai-traint-met-jouw-data |access-date=Jun 25, 2025 |work=autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl}}</ref>
|-
|[[Meta]]/[[WhatsApp]]
|In a new lawsuit, an ex-engineer alleges that 1500 engineers had unrestricted access to WhatsApp user data and that the company "failed to remedy the hacking and takeover of more than 100,000 accounts each day, ignoring his pleas and proposed fixes and choosing instead to prioritize user growth". (ongoing)
|[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/08/meta-user-data-lawsuit-whatsapp]
|-
|[[Microsoft]]
|Microsoft uses software engineers based in China to work on US Defense Department systems with laughably ineffective precautions. I think this is relevant in the context of Microsoft's attitude towards cloud security. In the past, master keys have been stolen by Chinese hackers and from my understanding, it's not even clear to what extent those groups still have access to Microsoft's internal systems, and by extension, Microsoft customers'. This needs more research though.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dudley |first=Renee |date=2025-07-15 |title=A Little-Known Microsoft Program Could Expose the Defense Department to Chinese Hackers |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-digital-escorts-pentagon-defense-department-china-hackers |website=ProRepublica}}</ref>
|-
|[[Microsoft Windows 11]]
|The Windows 11 Bing Wallpaper app, which offers regularly changing desktop wallpapers, opens bing.com at every single click onto the desktop and tries to make bing.com the default search engine during launch. This is the latest step in a series of invasive actions to get Windows users to use Bing and Edge.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 Oct 2025 |title=Windows 11’s Bing Wallpaper app opens <nowiki>Bing.com</nowiki> if you click anywhere on the desktop |url=https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/10/26/windows-11s-bing-wallpaper-app-opens-bing-com-if-you-click-anywhere-on-the-desktop/ |website=Windows Latest}}</ref>
|-
|[[Mitsubishi Motors]]
|Mitsubishi Motors has a rich history of consumer protection, compliance issues and privacy breaches. These include concealing safety defects, falsifying fuel economy data, and being fined for false advertising. Following the trend of subscription services for the automotive industry, Mitsubishi paywalls built-in features including remote start, SOS, collision detection, and car tracking through its app Mitsubishi Connect subscription service.
|[https://www.autoevolution.com/news/mitsubishi-fined-42-million-by-japans-consumer-affairs-agency-115026.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com] [https://leakd.com/leaks/mitsubishi-motors-vietnam-customer-data-breached/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Motors?utm_source=chatgpt.com] [https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/?order=pen_year&parent=mitsubishi-motors&sort=&utm_source=chatgpt.com][https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/newsroom/newsrelease/2017/20171129_3.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com]
|-
|Navdy, Harman International
|Device discontinued and no updates, device can be used offline for 1 year until it stops working.
https://www.reddit.com/r/navdy/
|
|-
|Nothing
|Nothing brings home-screen ads (can be disabled manually) and bloatware to its lower end models despite previously boasting about being bloatware free
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Floemer |first=Andreas |date=2025-10-27 |title=Phone 3a: NothingOS 4.0 brings optional ads to the lock screen |url=https://www.heise.de/en/news/Phone-3a-NothingOS-4-0-brings-optional-ads-to-the-lock-screen-10904033.html |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=Heise Online}}</ref>
|-
|[[Qualcomm]]
|After acquisition of Arduino, Qualcomm changed terms of use and privacy policy. They introduce an irrevocable, perpetual license over anything users upload, broad surveillance-style monitoring of AI features, a clause preventing users from identifying potential patent infringement, years-long retention of usernames after account deletion, and the integration of all user data (including minors) into Qualcomm’s global data ecosystem.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-21 |title=EEVblog 1721 - RIP Arduino (New T&C Deep Dive) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO7hdxyCNCA |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-25 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-29 |title=Terms and Conditions |url=https://www.arduino.cc/en/terms-conditions/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-25 |website=Arduino}}</ref>
|-
|[https://www.skystone.games/ Skystone Games]
|Boundary, a multiplayer online-only first-person shooter, got shut down just a year after its release by Skystone games, and its publishing rights relinquished, citing "ongoing delays and a lack of updates from the developer". Studio Surgical Scalpels (the developer) stated that the publisher decissions were "extremely sudden and unreasonable", and attempted to "regain the rights to boundary". The game has been offline for more than a year at the time of writing, and no refunds or communications to the userbase has been made by Skystone Games.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-19 |title=Boundary - End of service notice |url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1364020/view/4209257868262605607?l=english |url-status=live |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=Steam}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-30 |title=Boundary Shut Down: Who's to Blame? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr8IhV1fovE |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Slack]]
|Slack threatened to deactivate the Slack workspace and delete all message history of a nonprofit unless they agreed to a price hike of $200k yearly and also pay an extra $50k within a week. There were no prior warnings from Slack. A few years prior to this incident, they had agreed to migrate from the free nonprofit plan to a $5k per year plan.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-18 |title=Slack is extorting us with a $195k/yr bill increase |url=https://skyfall.dev/posts/slack |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250930075808/https://skyfall.dev/posts/slack |archive-date=2025-09-30}}</ref>
|-
|[[Sony]]
|The PSVita required a proprietary memory system and came with no usable memory natively; as a result, to effectively use the console, one had to purchase official, expensive memory cards from Sony. The PCH-1000 also had a proprietary charging port, making it nearly impossible to replace the cable should it break once Sony's support for the console dwindled. The charging port issue was later addressed via an updated console which changed the port to a microUSB connection. However, the expensive proprietary memory card issue remained and was exacerbated by Sony's blockage of using the PCH-2000's 1GB of storage while a memory card was inserted. Sony's continued efforts to block homebrew via firmware updates limited the owner's ability to continue using the device years after support was dropped for the console.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=PlayStation Vita Launches From 22 February 2012 |url=https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2011/10/19/playstation-vita-launches-from-22-february-2012/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2011/10/19/playstation-vita-launches-from-22-february-2012/ |archive-date=2011-10-19 |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=<nowiki>PlayStation.Blog</nowiki>}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=PS Vita Slim internal storage not usable with a memory card |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013181238/http://www.justpushstart.com/2013/10/ps-vita-slim-internal-storage-usable-memory-card/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013181238/http://www.justpushstart.com/2013/10/ps-vita-slim-internal-storage-usable-memory-card/ |archive-date=2013-10-13 |website=Just Push Start}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Types of card media |url=https://manuals.playstation.net/document/gb/psvita/basic/media.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://manuals.playstation.net/document/gb/psvita/basic/media.html |archive-date=2012-08-29 |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=Playstation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet the Hackers Breathing New Life Into Sony’s Abandoned PlayStation Vita |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/meet-the-hackers-breathing-new-life-into-sonys-abandoned-playstation-vita/? |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=Vice}}</ref>
|-
|[[Sony]], Sony Online Entertainment/[[Daybreak Game Company]]
|Selling off SOE to the investment firm Columbus Nova, all games published by SOE were delisted without prior notice to consumers or developers, and licenses were revoked as well.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=S |first=Shawn |date=Jun 10, 2016 |title=Akimi Village |url=https://delistedgames.com/akimi-village/ |website=Delisted Games}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Weber |first=Rachel |date=Feb 2, 2015 |title=SOE acquired, becomes Daybreak Game Company |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/soe-acquired-becomes-daybreak-game-company |work=GamesIndustry.biz}}</ref>
|-
|[[Superbox]]
|Android TV box manufacturer Superbox remotely locks consumers' devices if they were sold below the manufacturer's minimum specified prices and asks consumers to contact the retailer when they complain.
They are not the first to do something like this. [[Deye]] locked down inverters in the US that they suspected might be gray imports.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=You'll Own Nothing and Be Happy |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I5-rAyFQrk |website=YouTube |type=Video}}</ref>
|-
|UP3 By [[Jawbone]]
|Approximately 2011, Pioneering startup company from San Francisco, had revolutionary fitness trackers. In 2017 with no notice to customers they stole personal data and shut down app which in turn, bricked devices. Highly likely went bankrupt and sold to sister company to manipulate customer services and rights. Now owned by Aliph brands.
|
|-
|Vive
|In 2022, Vive discontinued the original Vive Facial Tracker module a year after the original release, then released an updated model with proprietary firmware that blocked use on other 3rd party VR headset, while only allowing the new model to work with their new locked-down headset. The 2021 version of the face tracker's long term support was seemingly cut overnight without any software updates since 2021.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vive Team |date=2022-08-07 |title=VIVE Focus 3 gets Facial Tracker, and Eye Tracker |url=https://blog.vive.com/us/vive-focus-3-gets-facial-tracker-and-eye-tracker/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250619155201/https://blog.vive.com/us/vive-focus-3-gets-facial-tracker-and-eye-tracker/ |archive-date=2025-06-19 |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=Vive Blog}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=StateKi |date=2023-10-10 |title=Post by StatekTi on X |url=https://x.com/StatekTi/status/1733954156379963393 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=X (Formerly Twitter)}}</ref>
|-
|Wheatstone Corporation
|Wheatstone Corporation are a manufacturer of professional broadcast equipment, mainly audio consoles and interfaces that utilise their proprietary Wheatnet audio over IP protocol.
Wheatstone restricts access to firmware updates, software configuration tools and software. You must open a support ticked in order for them to send you a download link to these software tools, they make it very difficult to access software required to make their hardware audio interfaces work, even stating they want proof of purchase (not just a licence key) before they will even give you the download link. Managing licences is also non-existent and you will need to contact support, and as such a fee is imposed.
|
|-
|[[Wireless Power Consortium]]
|After monopolizing wireless charging market Qi turned from an open standard into a proprietary.
Version 1.3 introduced "secure authentication between the transmitter and the receiver", i.e. in order to operate every charger must include an expensive proprietary chip licensed only to certified members. This results in increased development and manufacturing costs directly passed onto consumer. Version 2.2, unlike previous versions, "is available for WPC Members only".
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Qi Certification Is Changing and We've Got You Covered |url=https://www.nxp.com/company/about-nxp/smarter-world-blog/BL-QI-CERTIFICATION-IS-CHANGING| website=NXP Semiconductors}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Download the Qi Specifications |url=https://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/knowledge-base/specifications/download-the-qi-specifications/| website=Wireless Power Consortium}}</ref>
|-
|Wolfgang Puck, Bread maker
|Some of the bread makers have anti repair screws in them to prevent people from repairing them themselves. Needs more citations.
|
|-
|[[World Orb]]
|World Network (Sam Altman/Open AI) scheme to collect biometric data on all people. Tied to cryptocurrency, AI schemes. Supposedly way for people to show they are human (run by the people who are trying to make a profit from AI).
|
|}

==List of themes not yet covered==
Consumer Rights Wiki is not an encyclopedia.

*Before proposing or making a theme article, see if you can find an article that covers the topic on wikipedia, or some other reference. If you can, just use a reference to that.
*Check the list of theme articles [[:Category:common terms]], to be sure there isn't already an article on the topic, or one closely related. Sometimes a theme may be covered by generalizing an existing article.

{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Theme
!Summary of Theme
!Refs
|-
|
|
|
|}

==List of companies doing the right thing==
It would be helpful to include examples of companies doing the right thing, even if they aren't, strictly speaking, consumer products.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Company
!Good deed
!Refs
|-
|Tektronix
|Provided extensive product data on unsupported products to a museum, vintageTEK, and thus to tekwiki and the rest of the community.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lenihan |first=Thomas F. |date=2012-02-28 |title=Copyright Notice |url=https://vintagetek.org/copyright-notice/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250828004431/https://vintagetek.org/copyright-notice/ |archive-date=2025-08-28 |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=vintageTEK museum}}</ref>
|-
|Ulanzi
|The company offers a tutorial on how users can mix their own fog juice to use with Ulanzi mini fog machines from readily available low-cost ingredients, whereas competitors sell proprietary fog juice at extortionate prices, refuse to release the formula and refuse to honour the warranty if users use anything but the OEM brand with their machines.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tutorial {{!}} How to DIY Ulanzi FM01 Fog Machine Juice? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiq1B6-dcEM |type=Video}}</ref>
|-
|APSystems
|After requests from users, the company released a firmware update that adds a local API to their EZ-1M solar micro inverter, allowing it to remain fully usable if the company ends support for the device
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=APsystems EZHI Local API User Manual |url=https://global.apsystems.com/document/apsystems-ezhi-local-api-user-manual/ |website=global.apsystems.com}}</ref>
|-
|stevesgames.co.uk
|Will never put ads or in-app purchases in their computer games and will make gamees available for free after securing the companys future.
|
|}

==See Also==

*[[Louis Rossmann - Video Directory]]
*[[Other Channels - Video Directory|Other Channels - VIdeo Directory]]

==Reference List==
<references />
[[Category:Sources]]

Samsung ads in refrigerators

2025-11-07T16:22:15Z

Mallveo: Prices didn't match the source

[[File:Samsung-refrigerator-ads-update-changelog-scaled.jpg|frameless|right]]
{{IncidentCargo
|Type=ad
|Description=Samsung rolled out mandatory advertisements to Family Hub refrigerators through over-the-network software updates
}}
Samsung Family Hub refrigerators are premium smart appliances featuring touchscreen displays integrated into refrigerator doors, with models ranging from $1,800 to $3,500 in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/ |title=Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> These refrigerators run Samsung's Tizen operating system and offer features including SmartThings integration, internal cameras for remote food monitoring, calendar synchronization, weather displays, and streaming service access.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.samsung.com/us/explore/family-hub-refrigerator/overview/ |title=Samsung Family Hub |website=Samsung |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

In April 2025, Jeong Seung Moon, Samsung's EVP and Head of R&D Team for Digital Appliances, stated to The Verge that Samsung had "no plans regarding the inclusion of advertisements on AI Home screens" when asked about potential advertising expansion beyond television products.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.adexchanger.com/tv/samsung-might-be-putting-ads-on-their-smart-fridges-after-all/ |title=Samsung Might Be Putting Ads On Their Smart Fridges After All |website=AdExchanger |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> This statement came in response to growing consumer concerns about Samsung's expanding advertising ecosystem across smart devices.

==Incident==
On September 16, 2025, Reddit user u/angrycatmeowmeow posted screenshots of a software update changelog for their Samsung Family Hub refrigerator that explicitly mentioned the addition of advertisements to the Cover Screen display.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-smart-refrigerators-ads-3598564/ |title=Now ads are coming to your Samsung refrigerator |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-16 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> The update was delivered through an over-the-network (OTN) software update that users could not decline without losing smart functionality.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thespoon.tech/samsung-rolls-out-ads-to-family-hub-fridges/ |title=Samsung Rolls Out Ads to Family Hub Fridges |website=The Spoon |date=2025-09-17 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

The advertisements appear on the Cover Screen when the refrigerator display is idle, specifically affecting the Weather, Color, and Daily Board themes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/ |title=Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> Users who select Art Mode or Gallery themes can currently avoid advertisements, though Samsung has not guaranteed these themes will remain ad-free.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/ |title=Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

Affected models include all major Family Hub refrigerator lines sold in the United States, including:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.samsung.com/us/home-appliances/refrigerators/3-door-french-door/28-cu-ft-3-door-french-door-refrigerator-with-family-hub-in-stainless-steel-rf28t5f01sr-aa/ |title=28 cu. ft. 3-Door French Door Refrigerator with Family Hub |website=Samsung |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>
*RF28T5F01 series (28 cu. ft. 3-Door French Door)
*RF27T5501 series (26.5 cu. ft.)
*RF22R7551 series (22 cu. ft. 4-Door)
*RF29A9771 series (29 cu. ft. 4-Door Flex)
*Bespoke AI Family Hub models
*RS28A5F61 and RS22T5561 Side-by-Side models

==Samsung's response==
On September 18, 2025, Samsung confirmed the advertising program to Android Authority with an official statement:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/ |title=Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

<blockquote>Samsung is committed to innovation and enhancing every day value for our home appliance customers. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen that value, we are conducting a pilot program to offer promotions and curated advertisements on certain Samsung Family Hub refrigerator models in the U.S. market.</blockquote>

Samsung's statement indicated that advertisements can be dismissed on individual basis but will reappear during campaign periods.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/ |title=Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> The company confirmed there is no option to completely disable advertisements while maintaining smart features.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/ |title=Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

In May 2025, Travis Scott Howe, Samsung's Global Head of New Product Solutions at Samsung Ads, had presented the company's vision at their NewsFronts presentation, stating they '''''"envision a world where Samsung Ads brings your brand message to every screen in the connected home and beyond."'''''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.adexchanger.com/tv/samsung-might-be-putting-ads-on-their-smart-fridges-after-all/ |title=Samsung Might Be Putting Ads On Their Smart Fridges After All |website=AdExchanger |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

==Technical implementation==
The advertisements are delivered through Samsung's existing Tizen operating system infrastructure, utilizing domains including:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gist.github.com/wassname/b594c63222f9e4c83ea23c818440901b |title=Samsung Smart-TV Blocklist Adlist (for PiHole) |website=GitHub |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>
*samsungads.com
*config.samsungads.com
*ads.samsungacr.com
*samsungcloudsolution.com
*events.samsungads.com
*log-config.samsungacr.com

Users have reported that Pi-hole configurations can block advertisements by filtering these domains at the DNS level.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gist.github.com/wassname/b594c63222f9e4c83ea23c818440901b |title=Samsung Smart-TV Blocklist Adlist (for PiHole) |website=GitHub |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> However, blocking certain domains may disable features such as the internal camera functionality for viewing fridge contents remotely.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/ |title=Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

Disconnecting the refrigerator from the internet eliminates advertisements but also disables:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidpolice.com/samsung-refrigerator-ads-update-family-hub/ |title=Your 'smart' Samsung refrigerator will soon display ads |website=Android Police |date=2025-09-17 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>
*SmartThings remote control
*Weather information updates
*Software updates including security patches
*Voice assistant functionality (Bixby and Alexa)
*Calendar synchronization
*Streaming services
*Remote camera access

==Lawsuit==
As of September 19, 2025, no class action lawsuits have been filed specifically regarding the refrigerator advertising program.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/ |title=Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> However, legal experts have identified potential claims under the Federal Trade Commission Act Section 5 for deceptive practices, given Samsung's April 2025 denial of advertising plans followed by September implementation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising |title=Truth In Advertising |website=Federal Trade Commission |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

Samsung has faced previous litigation regarding its refrigerator products, including multiple class action lawsuits for ice maker defects affecting various models.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/samsung-class-action-lawsuit-and-settlement-news/class-action-over-samsung-refrigerator-defect-dismissed/ |title=Class action over Samsung refrigerator defect dismissed |website=Top Class Actions |date=2024-01-05 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> The company faces over 30 class action lawsuits annually across all product categories in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://goultralaw.com/blog/samsung-refrigerator-class-action-lawsuit-unraveling-the-cold-facts/ |title=Samsung Refrigerator Class Action Lawsuit: Unraveling the Cold Facts |website=Ultra Law |date=2024-11-20 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

==Consumer response==
Consumer reaction has been overwhelmingly negative across social media platforms and technology forums.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://slashdot.org/story/25/09/18/1335216/samsung-brings-ads-to-us-fridges |title=Samsung Brings Ads To US Fridges |website=Slashdot |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> The original Reddit post triggered viral spread across technology communities, with users expressing particular anger about paying premium prices for appliances that now display advertisements.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lemmy.ml/post/36322170 |title=Samsung brings ads to US fridges |website=Lemmy |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

Gizmodo reported that consumer comments included suggestions to "install uBlock Origin" on refrigerators and declarations to boycott Samsung products entirely.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gizmodo.com/nobody-wanted-this-samsung-fridges-are-getting-ads-2000660869 |title=Nobody Wanted This: Samsung Fridges Are Getting Ads |website=Gizmodo |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> One frequently cited comment stated "My workaround for this is to never buy Samsung products."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lemmy.ca/post/51830305 |title=Samsung brings ads to US fridges |website=Lemmy.ca |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

Technical communities have shared various workarounds, including:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gist.github.com/peteryates/b44b70d19ccd52f62d66cdd4bcef1e52 |title=How to stop adverts appearing on your Samsung TV |website=GitHub |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>
*Pi-hole DNS filtering configurations
*Router-level domain blocking
*Network isolation of affected appliances
*Selective firewall rules to maintain functionality while blocking ad servers

Consumer Reports rates Samsung French-door refrigerators' predicted reliability as "Fair," their lowest recommendation tier, with a 34% problem rate for water/ice dispensers compared to 15% median across brands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.consumerreports.org/money/consumer-complaints/samsung-refrigerators-cited-in-consumer-complaints-to-cpsc-a1133459149/ |title=Samsung Refrigerators Under Investigation By Consumer Product Safety Commission |website=Consumer Reports |date=2022-01-27 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

==Industry context==
Samsung is currently the only major appliance manufacturer implementing refrigerator advertising.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/ |title=Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads |website=Android Authority |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> Competitors including LG, Whirlpool, GE, and Bosch maintain traditional hardware-focused business models without post-purchase advertising.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.emarketer.com/content/samsung-turns-smart-fridges-new-home-ad-channel |title=Samsung turns smart fridges into a new home ad channel |website=eMarketer |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

Samsung's television advertising business provides context for the refrigerator program. Samsung TV Plus reached 88 million monthly active users globally, generating significant advertising revenue beyond hardware sales.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.samsung.com/us/samsung-tv-plus-hits-88-million-monthly-active-users/ |title=Samsung TV Plus Hits 88 Million Monthly Active Users |website=Samsung Global Newsroom |date=2024-10-29 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> Industry analysts suggest Samsung views appliance advertising as a natural extension of its successful television advertising model.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.emarketer.com/content/samsung-turns-smart-fridges-new-home-ad-channel |title=Samsung turns smart fridges into a new home ad channel |website=eMarketer |date=2025-09-18 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Samsung]]
[[Category:Smart appliances]]
[[Category:Consumer electronics]]
[[Category:Advertising controversies]]
[[Category:2025 incidents]]