iOS 6 Beta No Longer Available for Sale Online via Most Third Party Websites

It’s not just the shiny new hardware that Apple likes to keep under wraps until launch day… The same rules of secrecy apply to their software betas, as many third party website owners have recently discovered.

The key features of iOS 6 have hardly been a secret since the keynote presentation at WWDC 2012. Everyone knows that among the improvements, we’re getting a new Maps app, Siri improvements, and Facebook integration… But still, many don’t want to wait until the Fall to get their hands on the iOS upgrade, and so they turn to alternative ways to install a beta on an iPhone or iPad. Luckily for those eager Apple fans, there have been many third-party websites selling access to iOS 6 betas. But as you’d expect, this doesn’t gel very well with Apple, and now we’re hearing that these third-party sites are getting hit with copyright infringement claims.

We don’t exactly know the intricacies of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but it does seem like Apple would have a case here, seeing as a UDID activation for a developer runs for $99 a year, and these third-party sellers are willing to dish them out for more like $10. The whole development came to light after Andy Baio wrote this article for Wired—in which we hear the founder of UDID Activation saying, “If they [Apple] wanted to look into it, it wouldn’t be very hard for them to find out what was going on. I’ve been doing this for about three years and I’ve never been contacted by Apple, and they’ve never shut down my accounts or anything. It really does seem like they don’t care that much.”

Or maybe they just waited until now to start caring. Since Baio’s article has been online, many of the third-party sites mentioned are no longer in business. It’s clear that Apple is acting out, but can they prove that those selling iOS 6 betas are breaking the rules? It will take guts for one of these site owners to try and make them do so.

About the Author

Devin Wieland

 

Best Free Apps of the Day!