Ethan More September 14, 2023

Imagine you purchased a new iPhone and chose to configure it completely from scratch as opposed to restoring an older backup. Which app did you download first? It’s definitely Gmail, Amazon, or Netflix for a lot of folks. Beyond that, it makes sense to search the App Store for recommendations, right?

The App Store really features a list of “must-have apps” from Apple. There is a list for that whether you’re just getting started or seeking apps that Apple believes would enhance your iPhone experience. Naturally, since it’s been selected, it’s not always a ranking of the most downloaded files. It is a list of apps that the iPhone manufacturer believes every user ought to get.

Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are the three applications that are curiously absent from the list. Given that each of those apps has more than a billion users and is undoubtedly the most well-known app in its own area, that is a significant omission.

Naturally, Meta, which formerly went by Facebook before deciding to change its name in an effort to divert some of the unfavorable attention the firm was receiving, also owns the other two applications. Its name is not the reason it attracts so much unfavorable attention.

Contrarily, it is due to its actions, such as the way it monitors almost all of your internet activity and exploits that data to serve you adverts. The opposite is true for Apple, which emphasizes the fact that it doesn’t gather and share user data with outside parties and frequently mentions how it values privacy as a “fundamental human right.”

Apple updated iOS, the operating system that runs the iPhone, last year, making it necessary for developers to ask for permission before they may monitor users. That negatively impacted Facebook’s business. The biggest social media network at the time ran full-page advertisements in significant newspapers claiming that Apple posed a threat to the free internet and was purposefully hurting small businesses.

Putting hyperbole aside, it’s safe to conclude that relations between the two businesses are strained. This explains why, despite the fact that many people will download Facebook anyhow, Apple isn’t really interested in pushing people to do so.

The first four apps on the list are Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and Google, as if that weren’t enough evidence of how Apple feels. If you were to make a list of Facebook’s four primary rivals, this would be it. Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitch, and a few more streaming services are also covered (though not Netflix or Spotify).

I believe both of the concepts that are being taught here are crucial. The first is that Facebook has a much bigger issue than the business is willing to acknowledge. Nothing about Facebook’s problems was altered by changing its name. Even though it’s still widely used, Apple would much rather you didn’t put it on your smartphone. It can’t stop you from doing it, but it can’t possibly motivate you to do it either.

I’m not sure if Facebook can be fixed, but it doesn’t appear that the corporation is making an effort. Instead, it laments that someone else is to blame for its troubles.

One need just consider the recent revelation that the business paid political operatives to spread false information about TikTok, its main competition. The corporation “failed to properly demote probable nudity, violence, and even Russian state media,” over the course of a six-month period, claims The Verge. Facebook claimed that was due to a “bug.”

A brief glance at Facebook/Meta’s responses to any of the numerous incidents reveals a firm that is never prepared to accept blame and be held accountable, but rather one that is constantly trying to shift the blame. That is a difficulty.

And while though Meta has a lofty goal of becoming a metaverse firm, it still heavily depends on the ad money it receives from iOS users to finance that plan. You might assume that some corporate relationship management between the two businesses would go a long way given Apple’s significant influence over Facebook’s future.

This brings up the second lesson, which is that Apple has considerable authority over the App Store and should exercise extreme caution in how it makes use of it. Regulators and lawmakers are currently putting a lot of pressure on the firm over that control. It’s odd that Netflix and Spotify aren’t included considering they are the de facto audio and video streaming services, respectively.

Of course, neither of them permits users to join up inside the app, so Apple isn’t able to obtain its share of membership fees. It only makes the firm appear vengeful that it is compiling a “must-have” list while omitting the obvious options since doing so doesn’t monetarily benefit Apple. That’s never a good look for the most valuable firm on the planet.