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Identity Trackers within Audiobus App

124

Comments

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    @Mountain_Hamlet said:
    So, really this thread is a thread about nothing …..

    I wouldn't say that. It has brought to light several clarifications about what trackers really are, what they do and how to defeat them. All of which is good data for people to make their own decisions about whether they want to continue to use the app ... that is, if someone cares enough about the subject to go beyond knee-jerk reactions.

  • @wim said:

    @Mountain_Hamlet said:
    So, really this thread is a thread about nothing …..

    I wouldn't say that. It has brought to light several clarifications about what trackers really are, what they do and how to defeat them. All of which is good data for people to make their own decisions about whether they want to continue to use the app ... that is, if someone cares enough about the subject to go beyond knee-jerk reactions.

    Fair enough.

  • Hi,
    Thank you for bringing up this topic.
    To clarify, Audiobus only tracks a unique ID that is not linked to the personal identity of the user.
    This tracking is solely for purposes like improving app functionality and ensuring a better user experience.
    We prioritize user privacy and do not collect any data that could directly identify you.
    If you'd like to understand more about how we manage data, you can visit the product page on the App Store, which provides additional information.
    For full transparency, we also invite you to review our Privacy Policy (https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/Audiobus-Privacy-Policy-14acf6557a08808ca1adc1d8a0e67223), where you'll find detailed explanations about what data is tracked and how it is handled.
    If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to ask!

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    Nice to hear from you @Audiobus_support.

    I guess the biggest question in my mind is whether or not the data will be provided to third parties and/or used for advertising profiling. All the wording of the App Store and the privacy policy indicates that you can.

    That’s not so terrible, though I avoid it in apps and web sites. I don’t like targeted advertising. Some people do. It would be helpful to have that clear so that people can make informed choices.

    It’s clear that personally identifiable information is not collected, but as an IT professional, I know that the profiling information gleaned from even anonymous device id’s coupled with IP address and Web cookies is all being sucked up into information pools that can and do put together those linkages indirectly. I know enough and have seen enough of this first hand to prefer not to be profiled when possible.

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    FM Player 2 update today added a marketing tracker that can be used to track your usage across 3rd party sites and apps. Digital D1 update today has it too, but I don’t know when it was first added.

  • My two cents: to update an App that has been established for years, and without mention introducing trackers is completely unacceptable. Sad, but the era of Audiobus comes seemingly to an end with this kind of behaviour (for me, of course).
    There‘s NO need for trackers here, all the Apps being updated with trackers go into the bin automatically.
    Cheers and good luck.

  • @Audiobus_support Thank you for commenting and linking your privacy policy. I hope you are open to looking at these areas where it could be improved:

    Data Collection and Usage

    1. Specify types of data collected:

      • Clarify what "usage data" includes
      • Mention if you collect device information, IP addresses, or location data
    2. Explain data usage more thoroughly:

      • Detail how collected data improves app functionality
      • Describe any personalization or analytics purposes
    3. Address third-party data sharing:

      • Clearly state if and how data is shared with third parties
      • Mention any third-party analytics or advertising services used

    User Rights and Controls

    1. Include information on user rights:

      • Explain how users can access, correct, or delete their data
      • Describe the process for users to request their data
    2. Add details on data retention:

      • Specify how long data is retained
      • Explain when and how data is deleted

    Accessibility and Transparency

    1. Include last updated date:

      • Add a clear timestamp of when the policy was last revised
    2. Explain how users will be notified of changes:

      • Describe how you will inform users of significant policy updates
  • i wonder if tracking would also be possible, if i don't update. just because the data might be within the app already and now it's just labeled officially.

  • @nuno_agogo said:
    i wonder if tracking would also be possible, if i don't update. just because the data might be within the app already and now it's just labeled officially.

    I would not worry about that. Apple as to approuvé updates. If the code was in the app it would have triggered the warning.

  • Holding off updating also. @Audiobus_support
    ..wondering if a more personal message might help people understand where you’re at with the apps you’re acquiring? So far seems a bit copy/paste legal speak. Did send a message about bass808 still not working in host but not received a response.
    Judging by thread seems like people are being left to assume not the best perhaps.
    If people end up offloading these apps then not sure what purpose of exercise was?
    Hope you can clarify/comment, thanks

  • VHS Synth got the tracking update as well… bummer.

  • @ecou said:

    @espiegel123 said:

    @ecou said:

    @wim said:

    @ecou said:

    @wim said:
    IMO they have a right to try to get some monetization from the app, and more power to them as long as they're not spamming ads in the app. They're very up front about it. It's not like it's hidden. In fact it's way more visible and forthright than the vast amount of tracking that goes on quietly behind virtually every website we visit every day. (I know, I monitor such things.)

    We have the right to not use Audiobus if we're not ok with the possibility of a little targeted advertising. In fact, I've decided to do just that. But I can't say I hold this against them.

    Audiobus is a paid app. Why should it have ads inside it ?

    Still no communication from the new owner. I am uninstalling.

    It doesn’t have ads in it. It could some day, but it doesn’t now.
    Imma probably uninstall too, but it’s best to avoid putting out misleading information.

    True

    Time to buy AUM, I guess.

    Or Loopy Pro. If you were using AudioBus as a host, Loopy Pro as a host is significantly more capable than AB as a host.

    I don’t do looping.

    I never used loopy pro for anything else then its mixer. Why? Because it‘s support for external midi controller is afaik better than anything else on the market (yes, AUM included)

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    I've never seen a privacy policy that mentions specifics down to the detail level suggested above, but it would be nice to know what type of data would be shared with 3rd parties and how. If not in the privacy policy, at least as a response here.

    Audiobus could be a goldmine of marketing information. It knows every single IAA and AUv3 app on your system, and how often you use them.

    I'm not thrilled about the idea that a web site I visit could have that information available. Not that it's harmful, in fact, some people are very comfortable with that idea. It just feels underhanded to me.

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    @Zerozerozero said:
    If people end up offloading these apps then not sure what purpose of exercise was?

    This forum is only a small slice of the customer base. This thread more so. Most people won't even notice. Fewer will care.

  • @wim said:

    @Zerozerozero said:
    If people end up offloading these apps then not sure what purpose of exercise was?

    This forum is only a small slice of the customer base. This thread more so. Most people won't even notice. Fewer will care.

    Could be. I don’t know the numbers in terms of how many views a thread gets.

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    Retro Piano now has it too.

    Damn. I'm not happy about ditching that one. But with the persistent vagueness surrounding this, I'm going to offload (not delete) it for now.

  • These are all venerable apps that, for better or worse, were kind of on life support anyway. I totally get a new developer wanting to understand app usage patterns etc, but I'm afraid they're nuking the market value of the apps they acquired in the process. A smarter roll-out could've mitigated the damage here, but, even though I don't really think this is the case, the way in which it happened makes it feel like a typical "enshittification" process that so many acquired products go through.

    @wim you may be right that the conversation happening here is a tiny ripple in a big lake, but I'm not 100% sure there, especially in the case of Audiobus. I think if you are an Audiobus user, there's a good chance you're at least aware of this forum. I would not be surprised to hear that a sizable portion of all the remaining Audiobus users are at least occasional visitors here.

  • @mjm1138 said:
    the way in which it happened makes it feel like a typical "enshittification" process that so many acquired products go through.

    The correct technical term is "bullshittification" ☝

  • @SevenSystems said:

    @mjm1138 said:
    the way in which it happened makes it feel like a typical "enshittification" process that so many acquired products go through.

    The correct technical term is "bullshittification" ☝

    Seriously though, enshittification is a term of art with a specific meaning. The term was coined by Cory Doctorow a couple of years ago and perfectly describes a lot of what is going on around us.

  • @mjm1138 said:

    @SevenSystems said:

    @mjm1138 said:
    the way in which it happened makes it feel like a typical "enshittification" process that so many acquired products go through.

    The correct technical term is "bullshittification" ☝

    Seriously though, enshittification is a term of art with a specific meaning. The term was coined by Cory Doctorow a couple of years ago and perfectly describes a lot of what is going on around us.

    Oh. I don't know Cory and I thought you came up with the term yourself. Bullshittification™️ is indeed my own invention so I will continue to use it in the future 😃

  • edited December 2024

    @Audiobus_support Please can you share with us the details of how our data can now be tracked across which apps and websites and why? Your privacy policy does not make this clear.

    @Michael @analog_matt Do you have ongoing communication with @Audiobus_support ? I worry they might be unintentionally tarnishing the good name that you have both built up for these brands over these many years which would be a real shame.

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    @mjm1138 said:
    These are all venerable apps that, for better or worse, were kind of on life support anyway. I totally get a new developer wanting to understand app usage patterns etc, ...

    Just to be clear, they could do that with the innocuous:

    Data Not Linked to You
    The following data may be collected but is not linked to your identity.
    Identifiers (Device ID)
    Usage Data (Product Interaction)

    Many, many apps have that and I'm fine with it.

    They have purposefully gone a significant step further with

    Data Used to Track You
    The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies
    Identifiers (Device ID)

    (emphasis mine)

    I can only assume this is to potentially monetize data about our app usage by providing it to marketing tracking agencies. There isn't any other reason for tracking at that level that I can think of. No other music apps I have go that level.

    That the new owner dipped in here and said something vague about the id tracking, then hasn't been back to answer any specific questions yet, doesn't give me a lot of confidence.

    I'm going to take the time to contact them directly through the link on their privacy policy. They may have some level of legal responsibility to respond through that avenue.

    As I noted earlier, in Device Privacy Settings, one can "Ask" apps not to track you. It's a little ambiguous as to whether that prevents all tracking, but people concerned about the subject should learn about those settings.

  • @wim said:

    @mjm1138 said:
    These are all venerable apps that, for better or worse, were kind of on life support anyway. I totally get a new developer wanting to understand app usage patterns etc, ...

    Just to be clear, they could do that with the innocuous:

    Data Not Linked to You
    The following data may be collected but is not linked to your identity.
    Identifiers, Usage Data

    That many, many apps have.

    They have purposefully gone a significant step further with

    Data Used to Track You
    The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies
    Identifiers: Device ID

    (emphasis mine)

    I can only assume this is to potentially monetize data about our app usage by providing it to marketing tracking agencies. There isn't any other reason for tracking at that level that I can think of. No other music apps I have go that level.

    That the new owner dipped in here and said something vague about the id tracking, then hasn't been back to answer any specific questions yet, doesn't give me a lot of confidence.

    I'm going to take the time to contact them directly through the link on their privacy policy. They may have some level of legal responsibility to respond through that avenue.

    As I noted earlier, in Device Privacy Settings, one can "Ask" apps not to track you. It's a little ambiguous as to whether that prevents all tracking, but people concerned about the subject should learn about those settings.

    I’ve posted to the iOS Facebook groups as well that I’m uninstalling these apps until the developers can give us more information.

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    @gusgranite said:
    I’ve posted to the iOS Facebook groups as well that I’m uninstalling these apps until the developers can give us more information.

    I'm only offloading them at this point so that if I change my mind or satisfy myself that Privacy Settings prevent tracking, I don't lose presets, etc.

    (I also have the pre-tracking versions backed up with iMazing so I can fall back to them if I like.)

  • @wim said:

    @gusgranite said:
    I’ve posted to the iOS Facebook groups as well that I’m uninstalling these apps until the developers can give us more information.

    I'm only offloading them at this point so that if I change my mind or satisfy myself that Privacy Settings prevent tracking, I don't lose presets, etc.

    (I also have the pre-tracking versions backed up with iMazing so I can fall back to them if I like.)

    How does offloading work once you have agreed to the third party tracking I wonder?

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    @gusgranite said:

    @wim said:

    @gusgranite said:
    I’ve posted to the iOS Facebook groups as well that I’m uninstalling these apps until the developers can give us more information.

    I'm only offloading them at this point so that if I change my mind or satisfy myself that Privacy Settings prevent tracking, I don't lose presets, etc.

    (I also have the pre-tracking versions backed up with iMazing so I can fall back to them if I like.)

    How does offloading work once you have agreed to the third party tracking I wonder?

    If the app is offloaded, it isn't going to be used, and won't annoy you with App Store update notifications. It's impossible to do any tracking in the offloaded state, which is just like uninstalling except your presets, etc. are preserved.

    Even if installed, the only way an app can track anything about you is if it's running. There might be an exception if General > Background App Refresh is enabled. That's probably another good place for people to educate themselves about if they're concerned about privacy.

  • Gross. iOS developers have to disclose this. Them disclosing it doesn't mean this isn't shady, it just means they understand Apple will reject the app/new build if they don't.

    Other than that, Audiobus worked just fine without this. Want to make the app better? Talk to users.

  • edited December 2024

    @Crabman said:

    @ecou said:

    @espiegel123 said:

    @ecou said:

    @wim said:

    @ecou said:

    @wim said:
    IMO they have a right to try to get some monetization from the app, and more power to them as long as they're not spamming ads in the app. They're very up front about it. It's not like it's hidden. In fact it's way more visible and forthright than the vast amount of tracking that goes on quietly behind virtually every website we visit every day. (I know, I monitor such things.)

    We have the right to not use Audiobus if we're not ok with the possibility of a little targeted advertising. In fact, I've decided to do just that. But I can't say I hold this against them.

    Audiobus is a paid app. Why should it have ads inside it ?

    Still no communication from the new owner. I am uninstalling.

    It doesn’t have ads in it. It could some day, but it doesn’t now.
    Imma probably uninstall too, but it’s best to avoid putting out misleading information.

    True

    Time to buy AUM, I guess.

    Or Loopy Pro. If you were using AudioBus as a host, Loopy Pro as a host is significantly more capable than AB as a host.

    I don’t do looping.

    I never used loopy pro for anything else then its mixer. Why? Because it‘s support for external midi controller is afaik better than anything else on the market (yes, AUM included)

    I don't have> @wim said:

    @mjm1138 said:
    These are all venerable apps that, for better or worse, were kind of on life support anyway. I totally get a new developer wanting to understand app usage patterns etc, ...

    Just to be clear, they could do that with the innocuous:

    Data Not Linked to You
    The following data may be collected but is not linked to your identity.
    Identifiers (Device ID)
    Usage Data (Product Interaction)

    Many, many apps have that and I'm fine with it.

    They have purposefully gone a significant step further with

    Data Used to Track You
    The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies
    Identifiers (Device ID)

    (emphasis mine)

    I can only assume this is to potentially monetize data about our app usage by providing it to marketing tracking agencies. There isn't any other reason for tracking at that level that I can think of. No other music apps I have go that level.

    That the new owner dipped in here and said something vague about the id tracking, then hasn't been back to answer any specific questions yet, doesn't give me a lot of confidence.

    I'm going to take the time to contact them directly through the link on their privacy policy. They may have some level of legal responsibility to respond through that avenue.

    As I noted earlier, in Device Privacy Settings, one can "Ask" apps not to track you. It's a little ambiguous as to whether that prevents all tracking, but people concerned about the subject should learn about those settings.

  • wimwim
    edited December 2024

    Bass 808 has the 3rd party capable tracker now. I guess we can assume they all will have it at this point. Not a huge big deal. Just an fyi.

    I'm good with King of Bass to replace that one.

    Note to self: Keep an eye out to see if they acquire other apps.

  • @wim said:
    Bass 808 has the 3rd party capable tracker now. I guess we can assume they all will have it at this point. Not a huge big deal. Just an fyi.

    I'm good with King of Bass to replace that one.

    Note to self: Keep an eye out to see if they acquire other apps.

    Well I guess I was originally right to assume the worst 🥲

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