Virus-scanning' iOS apps have always been a scam. Now Apple is finally cracking down* Apple has updated its developer guidelines with a new policy that bans deceptive "virus-scanning" apps for the first time. A quick search of the App Store also suggests that Apple has been quietly removing many of the misleading iOS "security" apps, as search terms like "virus scanner" and "malware finder" no longer turn up results for these types of apps. As the company notes in its guidelines, it's incredibly misleading for apps to advertise themselves as having these types of features. Not because it's impossible for malicious code to find its way into the App Store (though rare, it has happened), but because Apple's developer policies make it literally impossible for any third-party app to identify such malicious code in the first place. What's most surprising is that it's taken Apple this long to crack down on these types of apps in the first place. Although they weren't always a big problem, it became a bigger issue over the last year as Apple automated more if its app review process, making it easier for ill-intentioned developers to sneak scammy apps into the store.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete