Tim Cook threatened Elon Musk with removal from the Apple Store. It turns out, this was an empty threat although X users who are on Apple are paying $11 or $12 per month to compensate for what Apple takes.
While this is akin to extortion, it is their platform. Apple is, after all, in the business to make money. If they want to remove something from the store, that is their right.
This became a reality for Metamask. Whether this is temporary or not remains to be seen. However, it is a warning to all of crypto. Actually, it is a warning to all application developers.
Many are starting to question the validity of playing into the hands of this company.
Removal Could Be The End
There are roughly 1 billion Apple phones out there. This was the company, after all, that did usher in the smartphone era. We saw a major revolution taking place which save Apple go from a niche computer company to one of the largest in the world (by market capitalization).
To say the effects of the IPhone were huge would be an understatement.
It also gave Apple, like its Andoid counterpart, Google, a great deal of power. Here we are seeing it flex the power it wields.
Metamask is no longer available for download from that store. That means all users will have to go without any updates. Of course, get a new phone and you will not be able to load your Metamask wallet on there unless you have some technical expertise.
What this is showing the vulnerability that exists with this company. Apple is even worse than Google when it comes to the store. That said, the other is no picnic either.
Some developers realize this and it is time for the users to see it too. The future is not in mobile applications.
Progressive Web Applications (PWA)
The decision was made some time ago by the Leo team to forgo the dependence upon mobile applications. It is a poison just waiting to kill projects.
Instead, like many others, the focus is upon building a progressive web application. This is an app that has utility regardless of the device being used. In an era where we have mobile devices with different screen sizes along with a lot of desktop, this is crucial.
The key here is that by having a PWA, there is no dependence upon Apple or Google. It is accessed through a browser, whatever one the users opts for.
Of course, there is some pushback from mobile users. This is more out of habit than anything else. People are so accustomed to simply downloading an application, they scream when that is not available to them.
This does not, however, take into account when they go to download the application and it is no longer there. Metamask users on Apple are now learning what this is like.
Sadly, this is dangerous road to travel down.
Decentralization Is Key
It is ironic how we discuss decentralization yet the topic of the app stores rarely comes up. Naturally, this is just one point of vulnerability as most of the Internet infrastructure is centralized. Even the servers that are running many blockchains have centralized aspects to them.
The solution is to get the database to the point where it can be run on personal computers. Will we ever get there? That remains to be seen.
What is most crucial over the next few years is the decentralization of infrastructure. This is not going to be easy as many entities placed their entire business models right in the middle of everything taking place.
Having decentralization at one level means little if the rest of the foundation is centralized. This present an enormous vulnerability.
As the industry is learning, the app stores are just one example.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha