Brought to you by UpHabit, an easy-to-use Professional Network Manager app that takes the heavy lifting out of reaching out, following up, and building an effective professional network (needed for your career and future job prospects). Stay connected with UpHabit, now completely free! Download the app on iOS, Android, and MacOS.
Great News!
Here at UpHabit, we’re thrilled about Apple’s decision to change their standing rules about user privacy! We’ve always understood that our biggest responsibility as an organization is the security of our users’ data. To hear that Apple is cracking down on these types of issues is wonderful news for us all.
What Happened?
In a nutshell, Apple closed the loophole in early June that allowed developers to collect data about a user’s contacts without their contacts’ knowledge or consent. This data includes things such as names, contact information both on- and offline, and profile pictures. Apple’s action has officially limited third-party access to use this scraped information for their accelerated growth, inappropriate targeting, or financial gain. The maliferous practice has always been on the minds of the general public but was, of course, brought to the spotlight during the Cambridge Analytica scandal in March 2018.
This change also blocks apps from reaching out to any of a user’s contacts without “the explicit initiative of that user on an individualized basis.” If the user gives consent, the developers then have to provide a clear preview of how the message will look to their contact. Finally, this change prohibits developers from “making, sharing, or selling databases of shared contact information, as well as using the information for previously undisclosed purposes.” (Venture Beat)
Apps that do not comply with these standards risk getting kicked off the App Store and Apple’s developer programme. Check out the Bloomberg report here.
UpHabit Referrals
While our referral system won’t be available until our full product launch, we have already designed some basic mock-ups of what our email preview will look like (see below!). Referrals are handled on a one-by-one basis, and we show you a simple email template that we’ve designed. You can edit this email as you see fit, and this is what will be sent to your relationship. Simple and effective for all parties!
A Final Note
We know that your data is yours and nobody else’s, which means that it shouldn’t be a method of financial gain for us. Our profit comes from helping you with your important relationships. We have a subscription model in place for launch just for that reason. It includes a free tier of course!
The whole UpHabit team takes your security extremely seriously, so it’s refreshing to hear that other companies are thinking the same way. We can’t wait to see other companies follow suit in prohibiting data scraping in a manner like Apple.
About UpHabit
UpHabit is an easy-to-use app that takes the heavy lifting out of reaching out, following up, and building an effective professional network. Stay connected with UpHabit, now completely free! Download the app on iOS, Android, and MacOS.
