Apple is kicking out applications that
collect personal data in violation of the company’s privacy policies from its
online store, the tech giant said.
The iPhone maker made the
announcement a day after researchers discovered hundreds of apps using Chinese advertising software that extracts “personally
identifiable user information.”
Apple confirmed that discovery today.
“We’ve identified a group of apps that are using a third-party advertising SDK
(software development kit), developed by Youmi, a mobile advertising provider,
that gather private information, such as user email addresses and device
identifiers, and route data to its company server,” the California-based
company said in a statement.
“This is a violation of our security
and privacy guidelines. The apps using Youmi’s SDK will be removed from
the App Store and any new apps submitted to
the App Store using this SDK will be rejected. “We are working closely with
developers to help them get updated versions of their apps that are safe for
customers and in compliance with our guidelines back in the App Store quickly.”
Apple does not allow third-party
applications to share data about a user without obtaining users’ permission,
and it rejects apps that require users to share personal information, such as
email addresses or birth dates. Researchers at the mobile analytics firm
SourceDNA said Sunday they had discovered hundreds of apps that extract
personal information, saying it was “the first time we’ve seen iOS apps
successfully bypass the app review process.” “But, based on what we
learned, it might not be the last.”
The researchers said they found 256
apps with an estimated one million downloads that have a version of Youmi that
violates user privacy. “Most of the developers are located in China,” the
researchers said in a blog post. “We believe the developers of these apps
aren’t aware of this since the SDK is delivered in binary form, obfuscated, and
user info is uploaded to Youmi’s server.”
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