Apple will soon begin stripping identifying developer data from certain bug reports filed using it Big Reporter tool. The move is part of a new operating policy expanding the Cupertino firm’s privacy protections for developers.
The iPhone maker shared news of the upcoming Bug Reporter changes in an email to developers. Australian app maker Daniel Farrelly posted a copy of the correspondence to Twitter earlier today.
Apple says the developer data will be removed from bug reports that have been closed for at least five years, have not been updated in 60 days and that are not duplicates of other bug reports.
When there are duplicate entries, developer data will be removed when the bug has been closed for five years and has not been updated in 60 days.
It appears the company intends to scrub all identifiable information from the old reports, as all developer-related diagnoses and attachments will be deleted. Further, references to a given bug’s originator are to be “redacted” and the scrubbed bugs will no longer appear in Bug Reporter, a web-based tool developers use to report and track the status of issues with Apple software and services. The feature also serves as a request box for API and tool enhancements.
Developers can download an archive of the bug they have reported via the Bug Reporter’s new “Download All Bugs” feature.
Apple hasn’t furnished an exact date as to when the new policy will take effect, merely stating that developer information will be culled in late fall of 2018.