Foxtel iPhone update
Foxtel's iPhone update addresses suggestions that phone numbers and other personal information was being recorded.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under Subscription
Foxtel subscribers who use the new iPhone application should download an Update which now allows those with multiple iQs to select which device they are recording to and fixes some minor bugs.
Notably, it has also added a Privacy section to address what it says were incorrect allegations that phone numbers and other personal information was being recorded.
There were claims that the application collects data it forwards to 3rd party Pinch Media which is said to collect an iPhone’s unique identification number, model, operating system version, application name and version, the length of time the application was run and whether the iPhone had been jailbroken.
Foxtel’s Privacy statement was updated shortly after the application’s release with the following text which remains on the current Update:
“The Foxtel Guide may use 3rd party services to collect technical data and related information, including but not limited to technical information about your device and application software. The data is gathered periodically to facilitate the improvement of software and product support. The Foxtel Guide does not collect any information personally identifying you.”
However, it still does not appear to offer an opt-out on this.
The Update also promises more features in the new year.
10 Responses
Ross – I have just done a test and from clicking on the icon, loading the settings and signing in, the application took 5 seconds….
I also attempted the ‘view all channels’ option that you pointed out 🙂 thanks for that (remembering that it has to go and get quite a bit of data) and that only took 3 – 4 seconds. Once I moved around within that option i.e. going from one day to the next it took approx 5 – 7 seconds to load, which is understandable. (I find the app so much faster than the actual website itself).
Even in situations where I have loaded the app, without WiFi around me, it has never taken more than 30 seconds to open.
I follow Apples advice and reboot the iPhone every week.. ensures the best performance for the phone and apps loaded. Could that be the difference?
@mydoona To view all channels at once, click all channels, then the icon at the top right of the app.
@Kathy How can you say the app is not slow? I’m using a 3G S and 16MBit WiFI, and it just took 37 seconds to go from icon tap to first screen.
David, I can assure you I am in no way associated with Foxtel. If I was, the website would not be the way it currently is, that’s for sure 🙂 I m not a fan of it to tell you the truth… it’s too busy and very slow.
I am just a huge fan of my iPhone and the many great apps that are provided. I have tried / used a number of iPhone tv apps, and foxtel beats them all hands down. Also I will add, since the release of the Foxtel app, three of those TV apps, no longer exist (two of which I paid for) as they were never going to be able to deliver what Foxtel can.
And to tell you the truth I did not quite get what ‘sending lawyers out’ had to do with an app ‘running slow’, hence my query as to what the fuss was about that’s all.
Happy ‘twenty ten’ David.
No worries. HNY!
@thewinchester. The app is far from slow… for me it is instant on the 3GS iPhone.
With regard to the ‘channels’ app, not too sure what the big fuss is about – it had nothing on the Foxtel app. It was just a guide with no features – and even if it was still allowed what use would it be to anyone?
@Mydoona – if they allowed you to bring up a full listing of all the channels, then the App would be slow. Hell, the performance, on the actual Foxtel website, is bad enough.
I will be sticking with the iPhone app, much faster.
Kathy…..always a regular fan of Foxtel apps and features. Comments always welcome but let’s hope no corporate bias there…. I thought the point about lawyer muscle was very interesting and also disappointing.
the only thing I hate about the app is you can’t bring up a full listing of all channels at once.
This app still has one major problem – its slow as all hell. And what do they do about it, instead of fixing it they send lawyers out after foxtel customers who decide to do something about it.
danielhill.com.au/2009-12/foxtel-threatens-me-over-channels-application/
It’s worth noting that the latest ABC mobile app update has also fixed quite a few issues (that the early December update broke) – podcasts of TV and radio shows now play the latest ones by default again.