App News Round Up April 2021

Have you had your finger on the pulse of news from the app space over the course of the last month? Keeping up to date with new features, launches and trending stories can be a great source of knowledge and inspiration for your own small business app design – so we’ve rounded up the most pertinent news from the last few weeks here for you. Read through now to get totally up to date.

Apple launched paid podcast subscriptions

Apple has used the roll out of its redesigned podcast app to launch a paid podcast subscriptions feature. Showing it’s always possible to monetise your app design, even if you didn’t start off with a built-in revenue stream, the paid subscriptions options allows paying customers to listen to podcasts ad free, get early access to some podcast episodes and unlock more content.

Beware of WhatsApp Pink scam

A malicious app called WhatsApp Pink has been making headlines this month. The app impersonates WhatsApp, but has no connection to WhatsApp or owners Facebook, and once installed is designed to steal user data and give hackers access to the mobile device.

The app pretends to be a new version of WhatsApp, in pink, with new features – if you receive a link to download it, WhatsApp suggests reporting that link or contact using the security tools it provides.

Google develops new standard to improve mobile security

Google says it has developed a new standard which will boost security for Android devices, along with other smart devices such as speakers, lights and webcams. The new standard was devised in collaboration with many other companies, including Facebook, Amazon and T-Mobile via the Internet of Secure Things Alliance (ioXt).

Known as the Mobile Application Profile, it sets out minimal commercial best practises for cloud apps, acting as a security baseline which it says will protect users against a range of threats.

Mobile app developers will need to be certified under the profile, with the Android Security and Privacy team saying, “Certification allows developers to demonstrate product safety and we’re excited about the opportunity for this standard to push the industry forward.”

Apple and Google facing antitrust questions in Senate

US Senators plan to questions Google and Apple about the fees that developers must pay to be included in their respective app stores as part of an antitrust investigation which gets underway today (Wednesday).

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is one of the lawmakers leading the inqueiry and is said to be concerned about how the marketplaces are run, giving the huge importance of mobile apps. She has indicated that she will question the cost of inclusion plus, along with why and how the two app giants self-preference their own products.