Back at WWDC in June, Apple announced that it will open the Find My app to third-party hardware like Tile. It seems like a positive move in every way, as it addresses antitrust concerns, makes business easier for third parties, and improves options for consumers. However, there is a big catch that Apple has not publicly shared.
When Apple opened the new Find My third-party program in June, it naturally came with a confidentiality agreement for developers to get started. That means we haven’t heard details about what Apple requires from third parties to join the Find My app and how everything will work.
Today the Washington Post released details of an anonymous developer who has seen the 50 page document for “Specifying Accessories to Find My Network”.
A previously unknown and notable restriction detailed in the document is that Apple will prevent third parties from allowing customers to use their own app if their hardware is accessible in the Find My app.
Apple customers who use Find My to locate a device will not be able to use other competing services simultaneously, the document says.
This is in stark contrast to the way Apple currently does things, for example with its Home app. If you add a third-party smart device to work with HomeKit through the Home app, you can still control it with the third-party app.
Based on an Apple response to the WPIt appears to be discouraging companies like Tile or Chipolo from using the new Find My functionality and aims for it to be used by much smaller companies.
Apple spokesman Alex Kirschner said the software could be useful to smaller companies that don’t have the resources to build a location search service on their own. “If you were a smaller player interested in entering the search space and you haven’t built a search network, this allows you to do that,” he said. Apple has denied that its policies are anti-competitive.
The news will certainly add more scrutiny to Congress and Europe’s investigation of Apple’s possible antitrust practices including Tile’s claims about the situation.
And the Washington Post The report also highlights that Apple still has another advantage over third parties beyond the newly discovered restriction:
The location of each Apple user is automatically shared with the Find Me service, for example. But outside companies, like Tile, must ask each Apple user for permission to get their location. Last year, Apple removed the ability for third-party developers to ask customers to “always allow” their location to be shared when installing an app. Always-on location sharing is required to find apps that work properly.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was to testify before Congress at a hearing on Monday, July 27 on anti-competitive practices, but it appears to be delayed.
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