Apple explains why it’s cracking down on third-party screen time and parental control apps

Following the introduction of Apple’s iOS Screen Time feature, a number of app developers who created screen-tracking and parental control apps have been asked to change their products, or have been booted from the App Store completely, according to a new report inThe New York Times.

The Times says that “Apple has removed or restricted at least 11 of the 17 most downloaded screen-time and parental-control apps,” as well as a number of others. The report points out that Apple’s Screen Time app has some drawbacks compared to some of the third-party alternatives, giving users fewer ways to block kids (or themselves) from accessing unwanted apps, less-granular scheduling, and that children were able to work around Apple’s web-filtering tools. It also points out that third-party apps could be used across iOS and Android platforms, whereas Apple’s Screen Time makes it difficult for parents to oversee Android devices.

Vimeo’s new feature will allow creators to create Smart TV channels The new Showcases feature will give creators a new way to share their work

imeo announced (via TubeFilter) that it is releasing a new toolkit called Showcases that will allow creators to show off their videos, including customizable portfolio sites and Smart TV channels.

The company describes Showcase as a new way for users to highlight their portfolio online, and brings three tools to the table: a customizable portfolio / video site, the ability to embed video playlists on existing websites that creators might have, and TV apps for Pro users, which will allow creators to build their own Smart TV channels, which can be distributed via Roku and Amazon Fire TVs.

The feature will replace Vimeo’s Album feature (it says that it’ll update the design and keep “all the features that you love while adding new ones.”) Vimeo also says that there are a bunch of features in the works for Showcases — additional layouts, support for live-streaming, Showcase-specific statistics, and more.

Google bans app developer with 600 million downloads for being a fake click factory

Google is banning a popular Chinese developer from its Google Play Store and systematically removing dozens of its apps after BuzzFeed and security researchers discovered that the developer was committing ad fraud and abusing user permissions. The Chinese developer DO Global, which is partly owned by Baidu, was found to be producing fake ad clicks to gain revenue, among other fraudulent practices.

“We take our responsibility to protect users and advertisers seriously, and invest in tools and resources to fight fraud and abuse globally. We actively investigate malicious behavior, and when we find violations, we take action, including the removal of a developer’s ability to monetize their app with AdMob or publish on Play,” Google told The Verge in a statement.

Google didn’t officially confirm that it’s outright banning DO Global, but Adoy Tech understands that the BuzzFeed report is accurate.

At least six apps were found by researchers to contain code for fake ad-clicking that would run in the background even when a user kept the app closed. DO Global previously had about 100 apps in the Play Store, many of them listed under other developer names, such as “Pic Tools Group.” BuzzFeed reports that 46 of them are now gone.

Check Point wrote in its research, “In a world where ad revenue can produce a very high income, it’s not surprising why malicious actors are after fraudulent activities against ad agencies. ‘Follow the money’ is a good rule of thumb while investigating a malicious campaign.” It looked into the apps after BuzzFeed contacted them, and after it published its findings last week, Google took action.

This isn’t the first time Google has had to remove a large batch of apps for violations. In January last year, Google deleted 60 games from the Play Store after Check Point found a malicious bug contained in the apps that displayed porn ads. Many of the games were aimed at children.