Amid antitrust scrutiny, Apple makes quiet power moves over developers

During Apple’s annual developer’s conference in June, it announced that smaller developers would finally have access to its “Find My” app, a move that on the surface could appease developers who have asserted that Apple has too much power. It turns out the announcement was not what it seemed. Apple has placed strict restrictions on how consumers will be able to use the app. Apple customers who use Find My to locate a device will be barred from using other competing services simultaneously. The move is unusual, developers say. Customers generally have the choice of using multiple apps to control the same hardware device.  Apple’s decision highlights the company’s willingness to tighten its grip and control over how its products are used, even as hawk-eyed European regulators circle and US lawmakers prepare to question the company’s chief executive, Tim Cook, at a hearing about its competition practices.