Apple lets pirate software back into the App Store

Apple’s in-house control department actually ensures that applications distributed via the respective device app stores do not have any security vulnerabilities or do anything illegal. Among other things, developers pay a commission of up to 30 percent to the iPhone manufacturer for this. However, some things have already slipped through the cracks of the so-called App Review in the past. Now there has been another such case.

Anzeige

As the IT news site The Verge reports, a “productivity app” called Univer Notes, which is supposed to allow users to “save all events of the day and plan their time”, was equipped with illegal streaming routines. However, thanks to geo-switching, the function could only be activated in countries outside the USA, including Canada, the Netherlands and France. Among others, the second part of “Joker”, “Venom: The Last Dance” and “Terrifier 3” could be found. The target group was apparently French speakers, as the options within the app were labeled accordingly and the films were shown with French subtitles.

Following a request from The Verge, to which Apple initially did not respond, “Univer Note” was removed after a few days. The application had previously climbed high in the App Store charts – and was temporarily number 1 in the US hit list of free iPad apps after the information spread. On Android, an app with the same name exists on GitHub and as an APK – whether this is the same program remained unclear at first.

Not the first time this has happened

This is not the first time Apple has let a piracy app slip through the app review. In August, for example, an application was distributed that was able to download the relevant code without Apple noticing in advance. React Native was used for this.

In the case of “Univer Note”, it would probably have been much easier for Apple to get to the actual purpose of the app if the App Review had gone through other regions. However, in the absence of a statement, it is unclear exactly why the app slipped through. Most recently, an app with pirated content that claimed to be a vision test tool was also released on the App Store. Apple only removed it from the App Store after press reports emerged – similar to what has now happened with “Univer Note”.

(bsc)