Macworld’s Lex Friedman:
Depending upon whom you ask, Friday, June 1 is the best or worst thing to come to the Mac App Store since it opened its doors in 2011. As of now, new and significantly updated apps submitted to Apple’s Mac App Store must implement sandboxing.
Sandboxing refers to compartmentalizing what data and features a specific app is granted access to; apps each can metaphorically play exclusively in their own sandbox, accessing only that data which Apple has granted that app entitlements to see. The plus side of sandboxing is that it means, in theory, that your apps will become safer and more trustworthy: Your Mac prevents them from accessing files they shouldn’t access.
But that security comes with a price, at least in some cases.
I eagerly await WWDC to see if there’s yet another trick up Apple’s sleeve wrt Sandboxing.
It’s my understanding that the rules of the game are that you make a case for why your app needs said access and if your case is solid Apple has no issue with it. But if, say, your app really doesn’t need to access your address book to do the job, you have to block it from being used that way. So that, for example, someone can’t write a malware that uses your app to get in and access that info.
So, assuming this is correct, what’s the harm.
Because what Apple decides is a solid case can be and usually is at odds with what the developer would think is a solid case.