Apple Inc. will not let developers disclose device data to third parties without express consent, making it hard for developers to deploy crucial analytics to get insight to drive success of their iPhone applications.

Most analytics services need to extract and disclose detailed device data to the analytics vendor in addition to the developer. They require this data to function, but in doing so are in breach of the Apple rules.

?Apple?s latest changes to their developer license agreement means that most traditional ways of measuring application usage and advertising is now in breach of contract, leaving developers to make changes to their apps to remain in the app store,? said Andy Bovingdon, vice president of product marketing at Bango, Cambridge, Britain.
 
?Bango Analytics provides a solution that does not rely on data passed from the device to work,? he said. ?Bango Analytics is compliant with the terms of the Apple license agreement.?

Recent changes to the Apple developer license agreement state:

Device Data may not be provided or disclosed to a third party without Apple?s prior written consent. Accordingly, the use of third party software in Your Application to collect and send Device Data to a third party for processing or analysis is expressly prohibited.

Most analytics companies? dependency on platform-specific code also conceals what information is being disclosed making it impossible to know whether a developer is in breach, right up until Apple rejects the application.

?Obviously, Apple has a lot of good-will with developers, which they don?t want to jeopardize,? said Brennan Hayden, vice president of Wireless Developer Agency, East Lansing, MI. ?This is not the first time Apple developer restrictions have caused controversy.

?Often when met with exasperation by their developers, they back-off,? he said. ?So it remains to be seen how this episode will evolve.

?My interpretation of these new rules is that that they do in fact disrupt third-party analytics services, but inadvertently.?

Mr. Hayden said the new rules prohibit explicitly the way analytics are primarily delivered today: third-parties entice developers to send them usage data, in exchange for free analytics.

Those third-parties then monetize the resulting information in the aggregate, and the developer uses the analytics both to enhance the user experience and also decide the most effective monetization strategies.

?Barring further clarification, Apple has in effect shut this kind of business down,? Mr. Hayden said. ?But I would be very surprised not to see that clarification, for the following reason: the same function can be accomplished by the developers themselves, within the rules, by collecting their own usage data.

?Apple, I believe, has something else in mind with these new rules, not destroying the third-party analytics business,? he said.

So, how will the lack of third-party analytics affect objective analysis of performance on Apple platforms?

Without measurement it is impossible to make applications a commercial success. Application developers need to know:

--The success of their marketing campaigns ? How their marketing spend is driving downloads and actual application usage.

--The usage of applications ? What bits customers like and do not like. What parts of their applications work and what parts do not. Customer trends and usage patterns allow the developer to revise and improve the application.

As of today Apple does not offer any measurement solution. But this license agreement change could be evidence of the fact that Apple plans to acquire an analytics firm to further close its walled garden, limiting developers' options.

?Quattro has stellar analytics tools,? said Michael Becker, managing director of North America, Mobile Marketing Association, New York. ?To the extent of a third party acquisition, that?s a strategic possibility.

?To the extent that they are not allowing using a third party, one would guess they are planning to launch their own tools,? he said. ?Mobile analytics is important and one of the top trending needs in 2010.

?They are needed to validate the market and provide evidence for its spend.?

Apple?s change to the developer license agreement is certainly counter-intuitive for an open market. It also has the potential to create a substantial challenge for developers.

For example, an advertiser may want third-party audit ability tracking and since this can not be made available there, this has the potential for raising data integrity issues in terms of third party validity and auditing.

How will someone audit? Where will it come from? Will Apple provide this service?

?But even if they did offer offer a measurement solution, the best method is an independent solution that is not affiliated to any company running paid services like advertising,? Mr. Bovingdon said. ?Only an independent analytics solution can give you the confidence to build a business around.?

?Apple needs to open up and encourage a vibrant market around the iPhone rather than trying to control and own all aspects of the market themselves,? he said. ?This current tactic simply causes distrust as developers wonder what the next set of license changes will be.?