Linearity stole my data - Not "Apple Legal" to do that.

Help & Support
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I am a hobby user, so I do not use Linearity every day. I have just discovered that now I cannot access my existing Linearity/Vectornator files on any of my devices (Mac and iPad). - I have to create a Linearity account to access current data. And apparently I am also being forced to not use iCloud any more.

It is against Apple Rules to do such things for existing users. It has been tried before but Apple will not accept these smart moves.

So please make it possible to access current data without having to make a Linearity Account. Do not hold my data as “hostages” in order to force me into a new Cloud solution. It must be possible to get to my data so I can have a chance to export them and use them in some other app. Or at least so I can get screenshots. There are important data on those drawings.

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Hi @TorbenIbsen. I’m very sorry and I understand how you might be feeling. Rest assured, I’m here to clarify any misunderstandings and reassure you that this is not necessarily the case.

Right off the bat, all our versions gets reviewed by the team back at Apple and we wouldn’t have passed the reviews if something was against their policy. On top, Apple’s guidelines suggest that developers can’t ask users to create and account if there is no value behind that ask. Which again, is not the case with us.

We are in no way holding your data “hostage” and I’d ask you to not use such terms that might be offensive to others. You are absolutely free to export all your work, then remove them from Linearity Cloud. All our cloud services are linked to Amazon Web Services. Which then means all security measures are the ones from Amazon itself, which are proven to be industry standards.

I hope this brings more clarity to you.

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@Medet: … you don’t fit the rules! @TorbenIbsen want access to his own files without creating a cloud account! :wink:

And this claim may even be legally enforceable. Because you change the rules before he could check the new handling of files. But this is just a guess, a few friends who are more professional in such matters are checking this right now.
(and you generated a lot of work in your user base, I would start to program a vectornator/curve-2-svg/ai/eps-converter-mini-app to show Goodwill and keep harm small)

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We do not move or upload files automatically to Linearity Cloud without the user prompting. If @TorbenIbsen wants to access his files, they should be where they left them. On top, if they want to remove all their files, they can. Nothing is auto transferred at all.

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@Medet : ok, I will describe it in detail: @TorbenIbsen want access to the content of his own files without creating a cloud account… to convert all files to AI, EPS, SVG or any other known file format. These will then probably be modified with another app, with the possibility to open the converted files, as well as new ones in the future.

This is how you shrink your user base… the CFO was not interested in “making more money” when he came up with this. He wanted to save money by reducing the user base and thereby reducing the costs for the own cloud! :innocent:

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The thing is, that I am NOT ABLE TO EXPORT the work as you suggest. Because when I start the Linearity app I cannot get anywhere before I have created an account or logged into an account. So I never get to open the actual app and perform the export I am asking to become able to do.

The splash screen is a loop which I cannot bypass. When I try to close the splash (the little “x” in top left corner of the screen) I simply get the splash screen back. This is totally verifiable by performing a test in an end-user environment. And it really should also be something you should be able to simply read in the notes from those who are testing the app before release. At least this would have been mentioned in my testing notes in a similar situation.

So in a sense you actually are holding my data as “hostages” until I create a Linearity Cloud account. - It may be that you find my language is “offending”, but the situation Linearity has created is also a bit “offending”. So I guess we can call it “even” on that score.

The situation may be due to some decision by somebody or by bad coding/bad testing. What other possibilities are there, I might ask. It is either one or the other. But no matter what, the situation is as it is.

English is not my first language. So feel free to suggest a more non-offending terminology, if you like. - But I think that it is more important that you address the actual issue and suggest some sort of solution. A more thorough approach than just answering “right off the bat” and being offended.

It is not important that you do not upload the files automatically. That is not the issue and I did not suggest so either. - The issue is that I cannot myself get access to my iPad data and perform an export because the app does not allow me to do so.

I know that Apple allows other clouds to co-exist with Apple Cloud. Of course they do. So of course they accept that Linearity does that as well. But what I really doubt is that Apple should have accepted that current users on an iPad app suddenly cannot access own data on that iPad without having to create an account in some other cloud. I think that perhaps Apple did not realize exactly what they were approving. I also think that Apple would have requested a way out for existing customers.

All it would take is that the opening screen on the app could be bypassed so it would be possible to use the app to export existing data. It would be possible simply to disable “save” as an option and leave “export” as an option. So if you have a Linearity Cloud the “save” option could be active but inactive without a Linearity Cloud. - It would only be a matter of a single “if-then-else” line of code.

I suggest that you start by doing the simple test yourself, and if you somehow can bypass the splash screen, then please let me know how. If needed I then suggest that you make a small adjustment to the coding of the app in order to let the “export” function work again so I can export the data.

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Hi @TorbenIbsen I understand. If you like, you can sign up, use the app for exporting and then we can delete your account as you wish. Other than that, currently there’s no other option as we can’t revert the app versions.

Another alternative I can offer myself to you, would be sending the files to me via DM/email and I can do the conversions. Let me know

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I’m glad that you now understand the problem. It will be facing other users as well. At least now we know that iPads user have to create a Linearity account and then make the export, so they are able to move to other apps with their data. There is no other way.

I will be able to create the account myself and do the export and then import into one of the 4-5 competing vector apps on the iPad. But thank you for the offer to help.

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@Medet : this do not match the rules of @TorbenIbsen ! after he sign up, the files will be synced to the cloud. and we are all talking about: this we don’t want!
and to send you the files is like to save them to the cloud… :wink: everyone who was/is working with confidential files know what he is allowed to do and what not.

what linearity can do: link version 5.1.2 on the web, so everybody can use to export… and migrate to a other app. if you want, modify the source of 5.1.2 to create a v5.1.3 without all useless but still working for export files to AI, EPS, SVG,…

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Thank you for your support. This situation must be one which I am not the only one facing. Of course Linearity should solve this problem without us having to send our files to their brand new cloud. - Seeing how they answer “right off the bat” does not bode well for concerns about issues and data privacy and user problems in the future.

I am so glad that on my Mac/iPad I have access to the other good vector apps: Graphic, iDesign/xDesign, Affinity Designer, Concepts and Pixelmator Pro. Some of these apps will be willing to take good care of my data and let me keep them all to myself. Or keep them in iCloud so they can sync between the devices as “Apps Made For Apple”.

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