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Topic: So Apple is letting Bitcoin back in. - page 3. (Read 4782 times)

full member
Activity: 154
Merit: 100
August 09, 2014, 04:59:20 AM
#56
Its good to know Apple is back. The new app is better designed





member
Activity: 260
Merit: 10
August 09, 2014, 04:37:47 AM
#55
Be warned, the security of this app is not great. It stores your Blockchain.info password and your app's PIN in plaintext on your phone, retrievable over USB. It also stores an encrypted copy of your Bitcoin wallet right next to the plaintext password (which can be used to decrypt the wallet). I haven't checked, but I imagine these files might be included in iTunes backups of the device too.

The sandbox keeps it safe from other apps, but you are 100% insecure on a jailbroken device.

They did add a new PIN lock to the app, but again this is not used to encrypt your private key and is only a UI lock.

That does sound pretty poor. However, if the app stores its data in /Documents and you have a lock on your phone (preferably complex passphrase / touch ID) then the app's data should be encrypted on your device.

They should really just store the private key and password in the keychain, it's super simple to do.
full member
Activity: 149
Merit: 100
August 09, 2014, 04:04:49 AM
#54
Be warned, the security of this app is not great. It stores your Blockchain.info password and your app's PIN in plaintext on your phone, retrievable over USB. It also stores an encrypted copy of your Bitcoin wallet right next to the plaintext password (which can be used to decrypt the wallet). I haven't checked, but I imagine these files might be included in iTunes backups of the device too.

The sandbox keeps it safe from other apps, but you are 100% insecure on a jailbroken device.

They did add a new PIN lock to the app, but again this is not used to encrypt your private key and is only a UI lock.

That does sound pretty poor. However, if the app stores its data in /Documents and you have a lock on your phone (preferably complex passphrase / touch ID) then the app's data should be encrypted on your device.
member
Activity: 78
Merit: 10
August 09, 2014, 03:43:57 AM
#53
Perhaps this time they didn't blatantly violate Apple's rules by including major functionality that was completely hidden until enabled on the server, and not turning that on until after review. Apple wants to review the app users are going to see.
Previous discussion from back when that happened: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7194085
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Activity: 116
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IPSX: Distributed Network Layer
August 09, 2014, 03:29:19 AM
#52
The sandbox keeps it safe from other apps, but you are 100% insecure on a jailbroken device.

They did add a new PIN lock to the app, but again this is not used to encrypt your private key and is only a UI lock.
member
Activity: 116
Merit: 10
IPSX: Distributed Network Layer
August 09, 2014, 03:28:38 AM
#51
Be warned, the security of this app is not great. It stores your Blockchain.info password and your app's PIN in plaintext on your phone, retrievable over USB. It also stores an encrypted copy of your Bitcoin wallet right next to the plaintext password (which can be used to decrypt the wallet). I haven't checked, but I imagine these files might be included in iTunes backups of the device too.

member
Activity: 146
Merit: 10
One Token to Move Anything Anywhere
August 09, 2014, 03:19:12 AM
#50
"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.

Lets not forget iPhone in available on more networks in US because of Android threat Smiley. More App's (By that I mean both in number and Quality) available on Android than iOS is not something Apple would want to become a common theme. That alone already made them more open and will continue to do so.
member
Activity: 133
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August 09, 2014, 02:29:08 AM
#49
"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.

That sounds right. Especially given the rumor that Apple is cooking up their own mobile payment service. I guess when you try to do something like this, the lawyers and other higher ups need to figure a lot of things out first. And this bitcoin business looks like it falls somewhere either within this scope or at least very very close to it. I think they needed this time to get a comprehensive look what they were planning re: mobile payments and how bitcoin dealing might be affected by this.
member
Activity: 200
Merit: 10
August 09, 2014, 01:57:32 AM
#48
"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.


This process is slow, and not very transparent. However as a person who has been on the receiving end many times I think it is a net positive for the end customer. Sure, I would prefer a system that is both transparent and safe, but it's not so bad really.
member
Activity: 200
Merit: 10
August 09, 2014, 01:56:49 AM
#47
"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.

I have extensive, direct, front-row experience with getting difficult apps into the store (though not Bitcoin-related).

The pattern you describe "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" is very accurate. The app is pulled while somebody high up figures out what the policy is going to be. Often the policy involves setting up safeguards (that you may or may not have already implemented) for abuse, user privacy, legal compliance, etc. These new guidelines are then consistently applied throughout the store (although some of them are unwritten and never make it into the official list.)
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
August 08, 2014, 06:56:51 PM
#46
I don't think Apple is supporting bitcoin. As bitcoin is well known now, they don't want to be labeled the platform which does not allow bitcoin apps.
They are supporting it enough to allow wallet apps in the app store. That is good enough for me.
I think this is the important part of apple supporting Bitcoin. If they allow BTC wallets in the app store then people will be able to receive and spend bitcoin using their iPhone. I think this would increase the adoption rate of bitcoin and will likely connivence more merchants to accept bitcoin.
hero member
Activity: 700
Merit: 500
August 08, 2014, 04:57:31 PM
#45
Yeah they forced alot of crypto fanatics to switch to android.  I guess they see the overall potential now. To make money that is.
newbie
Activity: 4
Merit: 0
August 08, 2014, 03:54:41 PM
#44
Maybe they realized that Bitcoin users who are serious about carrying cryptocurrencies around on a tablet were going to switch to Android. The Blockchain app is back in their store. http://www.wired.com/2014/07/blockchain-back/?mbid=social_fb

They are too late for me.

I already bought an android replacement for my iOS device specifically because I needed an easy way to carry bitcoins around and Apple was blocking bitcoin wallets.

They lost me as a customer and aren't likely to get me back anytime soon.  I'm probably not the only one.  This was a big mistake on Apple's part.  Perhaps Bitcoin is still in the early adoption phase, and they'll be able to capture a lot of future business, but I suspect they'll feel the pain of their decision for a while.

I feel you on that one. Apple's decisions sometimes just utterly baffle me. Guess that's what you can do if you have $100B in the bank...
member
Activity: 138
Merit: 10
August 08, 2014, 07:34:46 AM
#43
"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.
member
Activity: 97
Merit: 10
August 08, 2014, 06:51:01 AM
#42
This is the 100000 post about blockchain app
legendary
Activity: 2282
Merit: 1050
Monero Core Team
August 07, 2014, 09:54:13 PM
#41
Let me get this. Apple stopped its DRM based attack on Bitcoin when the BTC/USD rate was around 600. This allows us GNU/Linux and Android/Linux users who have being buying BTC all along at say well under 10 USD per BTC to sell to IOS users at say at 10000% profit or more.  Grin

Edit: So the new top 1% wealthy are those who choose FLOSS based operating systems, such as GNU/Linux, while the other 99% are those who choose propriety operating systems such as those sold by Microsoft and Apple.
full member
Activity: 141
Merit: 100
777Coin.com★ Fun BTC Casino!
August 07, 2014, 08:26:27 PM
#40
For me news about Apple saying they will take positive measures for Bitcoin is the same as PBOC declations they support Bitcoin.

It is a lie and won't happen
I don't think the PBOC has said they support bitcoin. Apple actually is allowing BTC related apps.
member
Activity: 98
Merit: 10
Life is my dream, what is yours?
August 07, 2014, 08:22:09 PM
#39
The only reason I'm with apple is because I don't even own a phone, but an iPod. They're good for music, which is what I use it for. As soon as I get around to needing a cell phone I'm going with android though, mostly because it appeals to my tastes a lot better and is more open source to code.
legendary
Activity: 1834
Merit: 1009
August 07, 2014, 07:45:07 PM
#38
For me news about Apple saying they will take positive measures for Bitcoin is the same as PBOC declations they support Bitcoin.

It is a lie and won't happen
full member
Activity: 155
Merit: 100
August 07, 2014, 07:11:29 PM
#37
I don't think Apple is supporting bitcoin. As bitcoin is well known now, they don't want to be labeled the platform which does not allow bitcoin apps.
They are supporting it enough to allow wallet apps in the app store. That is good enough for me.
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