Apple CEO Cook defends removal of police-tracking app used in Hong Kong

Honest question about these types of apps...

Why bother building something like this in to a phone app as opposed to building a webapp that can be accessed via phone using the phones browser as the client? It seems like going the app route would make it easy for the app store runners to censor.

Who would have imagined allowing a corporation in bed with authoritarian dictatorships control over what applications you're allowed to distribute or install could have negative consequences? Apple has undermined the safety of people in HK by using the ability of people to break the law using a legal application as a pretense.

I suppose it's great though because the app store is so convenient and relatively free of malware. You just have to use authoritarian state approved spyware such as WeChat that funnels your data into government servers.