The worm is in the Apple. While Apple has long touted its App Store as the last bastion of software security, protecting its users from the Google jungle and sideloading, the manufacturer recently had to review its copy. On the legal level, on the one hand, it now has the obligation to open its ecosystem to third-party download platforms, following its setbacks with Epic Games and the adoption of the DMA law in Europe, which aims to fight against anti-competitive practices. The fact remains that if Tim Cook's empire took a dim view of the arrival of sideloading, it did not need that to find itself in prey to illegal software.
For several days, it was a fraudulent application that rose to the top of downloads. Presented as a habit tracking app, Micro Habits actually allowed you to illegally stream hundreds of films and series in HD, but also to download them, with a few advertisements. The first reports did not take long to emerge, but before the software was deleted, many Internet users were able to take advantage of the scheme, accessible for free and without any prior registration.
One lost, ten found
The problem is that if the application managed to fool the vigilance of the Apple Store for the first time, it is not its first attempt. Before Micro Habits, it was Univer Note which offered the same service, and ranked at the top of iOS downloads. Since the application was deleted, Flower Butler, an online garden management software, seems to have taken its place, before being in turn deleted a few days later. It seems that Apple has decided to tighten the screw, by being more vigilant about fraudulent applications. The fact remains that the developers behind this type of content seem to have planned everything, by deactivating certain features while the necessary checks are carried out by Apple. So it's only one question of time before other similar software was released. Additionally, people who have already downloaded the app can continue to use it freely.
Although the case may seem anecdotal, it nevertheless raises a systemic problem that Apple has a hard time recognizing: even with the best will in the world, it is impossible for Apple to be entirely responsible for the applications that pass through its download platform. Sideloading will not change anything, and the company must accept the idea of fighting against windmills.
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