Months after being discovered, several dangerous iOS apps are still lurking in Apple’s repository of mobile apps that can be downloaded by users. According to a TechRadar report, a team of cybersecurity researchers from VPN Verification found that Apple has still not removed some of the dangerous apps discovered by Avast in March 2021. The antivirus company reported 133 fraudulent apps, however, VPN Check says 84 of those apps are still available for download. The report also mentions that these apps include photo and video editing apps, wallpaper apps, horoscope apps, phone cleaners, fake antivirus apps and other similar products.
What Makes These Apps Dangerous
According to the report, not all of these apps are malware or viruses and might not “try to steal data, damage or destroy the device they infect.” However, these apps attempt to trick victims into paying extra money via hidden fees, premium subscriptions, or other similar mechanisms. Additionally, the report mentions that these apps are “relatively difficult to remove from devices”, and VPN Check claimed that these apps “defraud users of at least $100 million each year”.
Why VPN Check blames Apple for these apps
Apart from that, VPN Check also accused Apple of refusing to “act quickly and remove malicious apps” from the App Store. The researchers also argued that the Cupertino-based tech giant “still receives its share of fraudulent revenue and risks losing an entire revenue stream if it moves quickly,” according to the report.
The company complained: “It may not be in Apple’s interest to fix the problem. As the mobile phone market is saturated, large sums are increasingly earned in the App Store. And Scam apps are great clients. They make a lot of money from their scams, of which Apple gets its share. Additionally, app developers spend a lot of that money running ads on the App Store that Apple can pocket as well. Not too shabby, as we like to say at Apple. However, the report mentions that Apple has yet to comment on this issue.
Also read: Apple has rolled out iOS 16 public beta where you can try out major features before it rolls out to others. Click on here to know more
What Makes These Apps Dangerous
According to the report, not all of these apps are malware or viruses and might not “try to steal data, damage or destroy the device they infect.” However, these apps attempt to trick victims into paying extra money via hidden fees, premium subscriptions, or other similar mechanisms. Additionally, the report mentions that these apps are “relatively difficult to remove from devices”, and VPN Check claimed that these apps “defraud users of at least $100 million each year”.
Why VPN Check blames Apple for these apps
Apart from that, VPN Check also accused Apple of refusing to “act quickly and remove malicious apps” from the App Store. The researchers also argued that the Cupertino-based tech giant “still receives its share of fraudulent revenue and risks losing an entire revenue stream if it moves quickly,” according to the report.
The company complained: “It may not be in Apple’s interest to fix the problem. As the mobile phone market is saturated, large sums are increasingly earned in the App Store. And Scam apps are great clients. They make a lot of money from their scams, of which Apple gets its share. Additionally, app developers spend a lot of that money running ads on the App Store that Apple can pocket as well. Not too shabby, as we like to say at Apple. However, the report mentions that Apple has yet to comment on this issue.
Also read: Apple has rolled out iOS 16 public beta where you can try out major features before it rolls out to others. Click on here to know more
