iPhone and iPad users on ALERT! Apple has made a name for maintaining a very safe App Store via ethical practices and flagging off illegal apps. However, an app developer has found Apple featuring some illegal movie streaming apps that raises several privacy as well as security concerns. Apple developer Kosta Eleftheriou has shared some concerns regarding these apps.
Eleftheriou has clarified this by showcasing a couple of apps that have cleverly disguised themselves as legitimate movie streaming services. On the App Store, several of these apps have featured movie trailers and and photo filters. Eleftheriou says these apps end up fooling consumers.
Eleftheriou goes on to describe the way these illegal movie streaming apps work. These apps encourage users to enter various codes to unlock more features. The app even encourages to share the app for unlocking more features.
Some of these apps even hold premium subscriptions wherein the payment is said to be made via Apple Pay. This is where Apple charges its 15-30 percent of share of that amount; a topic that drawn Apple to the courts in the case with Epic Games.
"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," said Eleftheriou.
The developer says these apps have been thriving on the App Store for months now and despite several negative reviews, Apple has not done anything to fix it.
Note that Eleftheriou has also been fighting court cases with Apple after the latter has been accused of copying his FlickType app for the Apple Watch app.
Previously, Apple engaged in case with Fortnite publisher Epic Games after the Apple banned the Fortnite app from its App Store. Epic Games tried to bypass Apple's 30 percent App Store commission by including its own payment portal for several in-game items, and eventually passing the discount benefits to customers.
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