14 DAY TRIAL // Apple's questionable App Store policies strike again, and this time, it's a German security researcher who saw his iOS security app banned from the App Store after Apple said it was providing "inaccurate and misleading" information.
The app, called System and Security Info, was removed over the weekend. The app was published last week, listed on the iOS App Store, and Stefan Esser, its developer, claims Apple removed it after a trivial bugfix update.
Apple initially approved the app, then removed it during a later update
The developer wrote in a tweet, "the app passed 3 AppStore reviews until some Apple manager decided that it is unwanted content and needs to go."
Esser developed System and Security Info for German firm SektionEins, and the app provided a way for users to display running processes from a security point of view.
The developer claimed that his app was capable of showing a list of running processes in iOS9, if a jailbreak took place without the user's knowledge, and also pointing out any security anomalies that might reveal a malware infection or privacy breach.
The app became very popular in its first week
Esser released the app last week and got instant media coverage because of its groundbreaking features. In a tweet over the weekend, Esser even said he expected Apple to remove the app after the initial media hype calmed down, which indeed happened.
Apple engineers justified their decision by claiming the app might show inaccurate and misleading information to users, and so it needed to be removed. Their exact message was:
“ We noticed that your app provides potentially inaccurate and misleading diagnostic functionality for iOS devices to the user. Currently, there is no publicly available infrastructure to support iOS diagnostic analysis. Therefore your app may report inaccurate information which could mislead or confuse your users. We encourage you to review your app concept and incorporate different content and features that are in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines. ”
Apple was never friendly to apps that prodded iOS' internals, so to any Apple fanboy, the app's removal was only a matter of time.The app's developer has been on a rant for the past hours on Twitter, and to be fair, he actually makes more sense than Apple's explanation. Some of his tweets are attached to this article in the gallery section below, along with screenshots of the app's interface.
