LDS Tools Missing from Windows 10 Store

[russellhltn]

Is there an official statement by the Church on this anywhere?

I think this thread is about as close as it got. If you look at the app page on lds.org, you'll notice a absence.

[forbushd]

Very poor decision, especially when Windows tablets are becoming so prevalent:

[jaycenornin]

Old discussion but still relevant... Glad I believe in the resurrection

As a regular plain old member, I really never used the LDS tools app. The need to look up other members of the ward just doesn't come up very often when you don't have a leadership or missionary calling.

Well, I just got a leadership calling and you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered the LDS Tools app no longer worked on my SP4.

One of the previous comments suggested it was not trivial to secure private membership data that is downloaded to the device. I disagree. Encrypting the data can be as simple as compressing it in a password protected .rar format until the app is opened (just a little more CPU/RAM overhead to decrypt it). And mobile devices already encrypt their local storage. What is not trivial is passing privacy regulations. That requires more than just securing the data, it requires rigorous testing and validation by licensed security auditors, and those people need to be paid. And usually these audits have to be performed annually. And the paperwork involved..... Based on other previous comments, it's entirely a matter of the church leadership not being willing to pay the auditors. (I work in IT, and some of my customers have to maintain HIPAA compliance and OH MY GOODNESS!)

It's simpler with iOS and Android (and even Windows Phone) because the local storage is already encrypted, and that's enough to satisfy most privacy requirements. For PCs and Windows tablets, however, the local storage is not encrypted by default, so the only protections offered by the platform are NTFS permissions, which are so easily circumvented.... let's just not go there. (Nerds might be interested to know that the current edition of LDS Tools data is encrypted by the Legion of the Bouncy Castle.)

But given the evolution of MLS, I suspect that the church is moving towards a web-based platform for PCs. While Microsoft is pushing (and intends to move entirely to) the new app Store platform, the church hasn't embraced that move. Most of the church's clerical computers are still running XP.

The link from within Gospel Library does still work, so I'm grateful to still have the app available to use. As long as the data source retains the same URL and format, the app should continue to work fine. Just don't talk about it too loudly, or someone might remove the link in a Gospel Library update....

[russellhltn]

Most of the church's clerical computers are still running XP.

If you meant to say Win 7, I'd say - maybe. The church asked that all computers that were elegable for free upgrades to Win10 take advantage of that. At this point I'd say"most" are on Win10, with a few older ones on Win7 (and those are probably due for replacement soon.)

All the WinXP machines were supposed to have been eliminated. If you still have any, it's time to have a chat with the STS. And the STS needs to have a chat with FM.

[troyclarson]

Agree with ldspaultosutah. I use this app quite regularly as the Executive Secretary and I am now much less efficient now that the Win10 universal app has been removed. Please do not confine us to use of the phone only as a tech tool.

[sbradshaw]

Agree with ldspaultosutah. I use this app quite regularly as the Executive Secretary and I am now much less efficient now that the Win10 universal app has been removed. Please do not confine us to use of the phone only as a tech tool.

I don't think there was ever a Windows 10 "UWP" (universal) LDS Tools app – it was an older Windows 8.1 app, and it wasn't receiving regular updates.

[teshaswensen]

I used this app on a daily basis with my calling and without warning everything is gone. Some sort of note or doomsday notification would have been nice

[BlairLMurri]

Was the API just recently shut off? Just before last week's LDSAccount outage it synced just fine, and today it's unable to contact the servers, while the Android version syncs without any issues.

[teksaport]

How about making a Desktop App then instead, like a real program. As the Executive Secretary I really need to use this on my PC. The mobile devices are so limited.

[russellhltn]

How about making a Desktop App then instead,

I don't think that changes anything. The problem is that the church isn't willing the spend the money to make sure the software is secure. I don't think making it a "like a real program" changes that. To date, LDS Tools and Gospel Library have focused on the mobile market, completely ignoring the desktop. My guess is that they expect desktop users to use LCR and other web tools. On the web, the church can focus on adding functionality rather than developing for different platforms.