What an eventful week for Optus! Earlier this week there was speculation that the telecommunications company would be letting 1000 employees go in an attempt to cut costs. They denied the mass redundancies but are again in the limelight just days later. This time it’s in regards to a recent update to the Optus iPhone app that will allow push notifications to contain marketing material.
It’s uncertain whether Apple accidentally let their strict app store rules ‘slide’ or they’re potentially easing their advertising restrictions. The current terms and conditions state, “Apps cannot use Push Notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind.”
The update itself says that one of the new features is “push notifications for marketing messages.” It seems that completely breaks the app store rules but somehow still got passed.
Joseph Durkin posted about it on Twitter and got a reply from someone on Optus’ social media team.
‘Apps cannot use Push Notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind’
Huh. @optuspic.twitter.com/2XVl1XdVaJ
— Joseph Durkin (@jozmosis) February 29, 2016
@jozmosis That would be if your account has been targeted for an awesome offer, it will pop up as an alert ? – Serena
— Optus (@Optus) March 1, 2016
Both Optus and Apple have not made any comments on the T&C’s breach, if it even is one.
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