Apple’s iPhone 14 plans are some of its most exciting in years, but serious problems remain with the company’s software, privacy and security. And stunning new revelations mean all three have now taken another beating.
iPhone and iPad owners need to know about a series of deceptive new App Store apps
getty
In his latest high profile exposé of App Store fleeceware (including casinos hidden inside children’s games and a ‘factory’ of iOS scam apps), Apple developer Kosta Eleftheriou has revealed the App Store is currently hosting a series of secret illegal movie streaming services and taking profit from them.
The developer highlights a series of approved apps, all masquerading as different innocent services — from classic movie trailers to photo filters — which subsequently encourage users to enter codes or share them to unlock their true purpose. Moreover, the apps feature premium subscription tiers which are all processed through Apple Pay from which Apple takes a 15-30% cut.
For Apple’s part, Eleftheriou points out that the apps have been available for months, despite featuring reviews which promote their true nature and brazenly advertize their illegal nature in use. Influencers on social media “with *millions* of followers” are also promoting the apps.
New Apple App Store illegal iPhone and iPad apps are making millions from users and Apple is … [+]
Kosta Eleftheriou
“While Apple is failing to police its App Store, these apps have amassed over 2M downloads and are now generating ~$16,000/day, or about $6M per year,” states Eleftheriou.
And this is the most worrying aspect. In legal documents released as part of the ongoing Epic Vs Apple trial, Eric Friedman, head of the company’s Fraud Engineering Algorithms and Risk (‘FEAR’ unit) compared App Store security to “bringing a plastic butter knife to a gunfight” saying the App Store review process is “more like the pretty lady who greets you… at the Hawaiian airport than the drug-sniffing dog”
Eleftheriou is far from a neutral observer, having taken Apple to court claiming Apple copied his popular Apple Watch app FlickType. Regardless, his discoveries are making iPhone and iPad users sit up and take notice, especially considering Apple heavily markets itself as a class leader in user security despite counterclaims that iOS scams now have profits “measured in billions”.
I have contacted Apple and will update this article when/if I receive a response.
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