Apple’s strict guidelines mean that developers have to jump through hoops to get their apps into the hands of users. While the review process is usually quite vigilant, a pirate streaming app managed to sneak through but has since been removed.
This follows the report by 9 to 5 Mac who, at the beginning of July, highlighted how a strange app called ‘Collect Cards: Store box’ had been available on the Store for over a year.
It didn’t have much of a description and the images showed screenshots with a simple interface for an app that appeared to look like a photo and video management tool.
In reality, the app was actually a cover for a pirate streaming platform that hosted content from the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and Apple TV.
After having tricked Apple and even making its way to being #2 on the most downloaded free apps in Brazil list, the iPhone maker soon noticed its mistake and removed it from the platform.
While this would usually be the end of it. The creators of the illegal streaming service managed to trick Apple once more.
This time, they created multiple apps under the moniker ‘Collect Cards.’ The apps all had the same features and descriptions.
These apps were popular and had great ratings, as people were able to access content that is traditionally behind a paywall. They were also available in countries worldwide.
It was revealed in documents from 2021 that the App Store Review team has more than 500 human experts reviewing more than 100,000 apps every week.
While these team members handle the manual processes, an automated review process is carried out for many apps to check if they violate the guidelines before then going through the usual manual process.
The pirate streaming apps are believed to have now been removed once more from the App Store. Apple is yet to comment on the situation.
Image Credit: Via Ideogram
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