Telegram CEO: Apple’s ‘walled garden’ will cause it to lose Chinese iPhone users to Android
Pavel Durov, billionaire founder and CEO of Telegram, said Apple’s move last week to remove the messaging app from its China App Store under order from the Chinese government (CCP).
Reuters:
Durov, billionaire founder and CEO of Telegram, said Apple’s move last week to remove the chat app from its China app store had not caused any decrease in downloads from China and criticised Apple instead for its “walled garden” app policies.
Durov published a post in his public channel on Telegram on Monday in which he confirmed that Apple removed multiple apps including Telegram from its App Store in China last week. Apple said the Chinese government ordered the removal, citing “national security” concerns presented by these apps.
But Durov said Beijing’s action was not a move against Telegram but a move against Apple itself. Rather than taking issues with the Chinese regulators, Durov focused much of his post on criticising the iPhone maker, taking aim at Apple’s app policies.
“Once again, Apple shot itself in the foot with its centralized ‘walled garden’ app policies,” he said.
“Unlike iPhones, most Android phones allow sideloading apps outside app stores — such as the direct version of Telegram — so more users from China will migrate to Android…As a result of this change, the iPhone market share in China will keep shrinking.”
Last Friday, in addition to Telegram, Apple pulled WhatsApp, Meta’s Theads, and Signal from the App Store in China.
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MacDailyNews Take: Durov’s criticism is logical and correct.
Those who want safety, security, and privacy will stick to Apple’s App Store, but a single point of control is always a danger, especially when it comes to capricious censorship (see: pre-Musk Twitter, Apple’s App Store in China, etc.).
iPhone and iPad users must, like Mac users, have the ability to install third-party apps; even if they never do, for it will keep Apple honest. The ability to ban an app loses all power when it’s simply available in another App Store. – MacDailyNews, December 13, 2022
Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. — Potter Stewart
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