Officially presenting itself as a tool used to “record the events of the day and plan your time”, the Univer Note app has hidden its game well. Launched on the App Store last September, it has risen to the top of the ranking of the most downloaded utility apps on the Apple App Store.
While many user comments suggested that it had a productivity function, Univer Note was in reality an illegal platform providing access to streaming movies and series. The service, which managed to circumvent Apple’s strict validation process, was not an ordinary free note-taking app. It actually offered content from famous streaming platforms like Disney+, Amazon Prime, Netflix and Apple TV+. Everything was available for free and without subscription, the economic model of the app relying on the display of numerous advertisements.
Three weeks ago, the app received an update to version 2.0. Perhaps that’s when its developer, one Richmond Zapp, turned it to the dark side. Barely deleted, Univers Note is already available under another name.
This is not the first time that Apple has let illegal streaming apps through its online store. The apps Micro Habits, a fake personal life manager, and Flower Butler, a fake plant manager, for example, recently preceded Univer Note by fooling the vigilance of the Apple brand validation team, reported the Numerama website in mid-October.
