Skip to main content

Google’s Duo and Cisco’s Webex Teams among the VoIP apps pulled from the China App Store

Earlier this week, it came to light that Apple had removed a number of VoIP-based calling apps from the App Store, at the request of the Chinese government. The apps had been using CallKit, Apple’s new developer toolset that provides the calling interface for VoIP apps, freeing up developers to handle the backend communications. China’s government asked developers, by way of Apple, to remove CallKit from their apps sold on the China App Store, or they can remove their apps entirely.

Notices Apple sent out to the developers were first spotted by 9to5Mac, who shared a snippet from of one of the emails.

The email states that the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) “requested that CallKit be deactivated in app apps available on the China App Store,” and informed the developer they would need to comply with this regulation in order to have their app approved.

The regulation only impacts apps distributed in the China App Store.

We understand that the apps can still use CallKit and be sold in other markets outside the region.

Apple is not publicly commenting on the matter.

The pushback against CallKit is another means of discouraging people from developing or using VoIP services in China, without having to go so far as to ban the apps directly. It wouldn’t be the first time China has cracked down in this area. In November, Microsoft’s Skype was also pulled from the Apple and Android app stores.

The government also last year ordered VPN apps, which help users route around the Great Firewall, to be pulled from app stores – another order with which Apple complied.

Other social media apps, like WhatsApp and Facebook, are also disrupted at times, and newspapers’ apps like those from The NYT and WSJ are blocked, too.

According to data pulled by app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower, two dozen apps with CallKit had been removed during the week prior to the news reports.

That list, along with the date removed and publisher name, is below:

Sensor Tower notes it’s possible that there are other apps removed from additional stores, but doesn’t have that data.

In addition, this list only includes those apps that have been downloaded enough times to rank in the top 1,500 of an app category at some point – beyond that Sensor Tower wouldn’t pick it up. But an app that wasn’t ranked would have had so few downloads that the impact of its removal would be minimal.

Nevertheless, you can see list includes a few well-known names, including Cisco’s Webex Teams and Google’s Duo video calling app, among those from other operators and VoIP calling providers.

The full text of Apple’s email is below:

From Apple
5. Legal: Preamble
Guideline 5.0 – Legal

Recently, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) requested that CallKit functionality be deactivated in all apps available on the China App Store. During our review, we found that your app currently includes CallKit functionality and has China listed as an available territory in iTunes Connect.

Next Steps

This app cannot be approved with CallKit functionality active in China. Please make the appropriate changes and resubmit this app for review. If you have already ensured that CallKit functionality is not active in China, you may reply to this message in Resolution Center to confirm. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call functionality continues to be allowed but can no longer take advantage of CallKit’s intuitive look and feel. CallKit can continue to be used in apps outside of China.



from Mobile – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2scoieq
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mother's Day 2020 gift ideas: 18 gadgets and gizmos for tech-savvy Aussie mums

Raising a family is not an easy job, and the women who care for us each and every day deserve to be told how special they are each and every day. While we tend to forget to do that, Mother’s Day reminds us we need to celebrate the women in our lives, whether they’re our own mothers or our wives and partners helping us raise the young ones. Mother’s Day 2020 is fast approaching (with under two weeks to go), and there’s a pretty good chance you won’t be able to take her out to her favourite restaurant this year, or even get to a store to shop for something she might like. So we have to get creative, and TechRadar’s Australian team has put together this little list of great tech gift ideas that you can buy online and have delivered in time for May 10. But you will need to get a wriggle on as delivery supply chains are under strain with more people shopping online. Whether she’s a whiz in the kitchen, loves to cosy up with a book or entertain at home, we’ve got a gadget or gizmo that’s s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Amazon Australia has specials on Bose products all this week

December may have just begun, but the world's largest online marketplace is already feeling the Christmas spirit.  To kick off the month’s festivities, Amazon Australia is celebrating  ‘7 Days of Deals’ with Bose's superb audio hardware discounted each day. To begin with, the very popular (and rightly so) Bose QuietComfort 35 II and the more expensive Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are available for less. To sweeten the deal, Amazon will throw in an Echo speaker as a bonus as well. When you purchase the superb Bose Headphones 700, you will receive a free Amazon Echo Show 5, or if you’d prefer the Bose QuietComfort 35 II, you’ll receive a complimentary Echo Dot. The offer is valid until December 8, or while stocks last. You can buy the same bundles, for the same price if you make the purchase via the Echo Dot or the Echo Show 5 product pages on Amazon. Just make sure you select the bundled headphone in the 'add other items' section on the right. Best noi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Valentine's Day flowers: the best online flower delivery services

February 14 will be here before you know it, and if you, like many others, are searching for that perfect gift, then placing an online order for Valentine's Day flowers is always an easy and romantic option. You can order a beautiful floral arrangement in minutes from a variety of online retailers, including; 1-800-Flowers, Amazon, ProFlowers, Teleflora, and many more. To help you sort through all the Valentine's Day offers, we've rounded up the best online flower delivery services in both the USA and the UK and listed their current promotions. We've also included delivery charges and made sure to mention if you can allocate specific days for delivery. There's a fantastic range of bouquets and gifts available from our selection of florists below, and online delivery from a specialist means you don't have to worry about the usual hassle of buying from a store and getting them home safely. We'll be updating this page as we get closer to the big day so you...
Post a Comment
Read more