Google can [and will] remove Android apps from your phone
Check this out, from “Exercising Our Remote Application Removal Feature” on android-developers.blogspot.com:
Every now and then, we remove applications from Android Market due to violations of our Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement or Content Policy. In cases where users may have installed a malicious application that poses a threat, we’ve also developed technologies and processes to remotely remove an installed application from devices. If an application is removed in this way, users will receive a notification on their phone.
… and this particular blog entry let the world know that they had just exercised that feature on every Android phone out there hosting a particular app. Let’s put this in perspective: Apple removes apps from the App Store (and is branded “evil” for doing so); Google removes apps from their version of an App Store (the Android Market), and also removes apps directly off of your personal phone.
The fact that they have done this is far less disturbing than the fact that they put in place the hooks to do it in the first place. They have a back door in every single Android phone out there … a back door that allows them to control your phone. They say that the reason is for your security:
The remote application removal feature is one of many security controls Android possesses to help protect users from malicious applications.
However, history shows that malicious things are often done in the name of increased security. Also, the “one of many” quote above is kinda ominous to me.
Anybody know if Apple has a similar feature in the iPhone?
