Google and Apple are two of the main competitors in the technology world, although Google is paying billions of dollars to a company founded by Steve Jobs to be the default search engine for the iPhone. The two companies have now been criticized for accepting an application allowing Saudi men to control and spy on their wives' phones.

As Insider reports, many human rights organizations demand Apple and Google to withdraw the Absher application, developed by the Saudi government, which they say allows men in Saudi Arabia to control their women.
Google Play and StoreStore hosts the Absher application, an e-government web application where users can access a range of government services, such as paying parking fines. In addition, they also find a service where men can determine how and when their women can travel abroad. They even have the option of receiving SMS updates in real time when their wives travel.

The law in Saudi Arabia states that women can not travel without the permission of male guardians. Critics claim that this application is a technical extension of the repressive rules that restrict many aspects of daily life of the female population in the country. Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, said he did not know of the application and that the company would review the situation, while in Google they assert that they are "investigating" at the moment.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and a women's rights activist joined the petition filed by Google and Apple to remove the app from app stores. It also reflects that the two companies should be more vigilant about the type of applications that lease their stores and about government service applications, in case of "facilitating human rights violations or encouraging discrimination in the country."

Application: Absher