Apple has tweaked its app policy, under pressure from legislators in the US following concerns about users privacy after it was revealed that some of the most popular iOS apps have been able to access and upload private address book data, without user consent. iOS apps will now have to seek explicit approval from users, in separate prompts, before accessing this data.

James Priestly, senior iOS developer at enterprise app company Mubaloo, think that the change is an undeniable acknowledgement that Apples approval process has been unable to guarantee the privacy of personal data. He told Mobile Marketing: “Apple provide an API to access users contacts, and developers take advantage of that to make the process of finding friends within an app as easy as possible. The majority of the time theyre not trying to store any data, theyre just trying to make good apps. As developers, we need to make sure any app wishing to access a users contact data is only able to do so when the user grants permission. This is exactly how it works at the moment on Android, and how location data currently works across iOS. The media and public outcry of these recent privacy concerns should prompt businesses and brands to tread with caution when using user’s personal data.”