Comment by g-b-r
2 years ago
Allowing third-party notification systems (such as UnifiedPush) would have practically no negative effect on battery life
Not to mention that people might prefer to use some more battery in exchange for more privacy
2 years ago
Allowing third-party notification systems (such as UnifiedPush) would have practically no negative effect on battery life
Not to mention that people might prefer to use some more battery in exchange for more privacy
It certainly had an impact when Apple and Google shipped platform notifications because each of those systems kept the radio active.
It’s possible that a better interface could be developed but it wouldn’t help privacy unless the implementers were in different legal jurisdictions: the same government which can subpoena or NSL Apple or Google could’ve asked e.g. Urban Airship for the same details. There’s also a challenge in that each implementation is a chance to make mistakes or fail to deliver promised privacy protections, and someone in a country which isn’t the United States might have stronger privacy laws but is also a legitimate NSA target. This kind of problem just doesn’t have simple solutions.
It's a much bigger nuisance and risk to have several smaller parties to handle court orders; some of which could indeed be in other jurisdictions by the way.
Before the platform notifications every single app kept their own connections open; allowing (completely) third part notification platforms would have a small or non-existent impact
> It's a much bigger nuisance and risk to have several smaller parties to handle court orders; some of which could indeed be in other jurisdictions by the way.
I’m not sure this is true: a small company is less likely to have the legal resources or confidence to stand up for their customers’ rights. I’m sure you could find examples going either way at either size.
Being in a different country helps but only if the company has sufficient security to even notice if the NSA decides to take advantage of them being outside of the US. I would bet Apple and Google have that level of expertise but not everyone else.