Be Careful, Two Percent Of The App Store's 1,000 Best Apps Contains Malware

Illustration of App Store application (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - During the trial between Apple and Epic Games, CEO Tim Cook said that the App Store would be screwed without the strict process the company implemented. But in fact the facts speak otherwise.

According to a search by The Washington Post, among the 1.8 million apps available on the App Store, two percent of the top apps list turned out to be apps that contained malware. Some VPN apps, which are supposed to protect user data, are filled with bad comments.

The filtered comments mostly state that the app actually states that the user's phone is infected with a virus. Then, users are directed to buy and install certain applications that are not needed.

Not only that, a QR code reader application was also found on the App Store. The app tricks users into paying a weekly subscription fee of 4.99 US dollars for a service that is now even available on iPhone cameras.

While other applications, in greater numbers, disguised as big brand names. Like Amazon and Samsung. And there are also types of apps that use fake reviews to increase their rankings on the App Store.

Potential Losses Reach 45 Million US Dollars!

The results of the analysis of The Washington Post team found that fraudulent applications contained in the App Store could potentially harm users up to 48 million US dollars. The number is obtained from the duration of each application in the App Store – whose data is obtained from the market research institute Appfigures.

Unfortunately, the scale of the impact of this problem has never been reported more broadly. Moreover, Apple also takes advantage of the existence of these applications – according to company regulations that cut 30 percent of the revenue earned by application developers through the App Store.

And no less, based on The Post's analysis, are fake applications. The app buys user reviews to convince other users to pay a higher price than other legal apps that have more user reviews.

Currently, two-thirds of the 18 apps flagged by The Post have been removed by Apple. However, once again, the existence of these applications invalidates Tim Cook's statement regarding the 'strict process' he conveyed during his trial with Epic Games.