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Simplistic 'Yo' Messaging App Soars in App Store Charts, Proves Vulnerable to Hacking

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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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The Yo messaging app [Direct Link] debuted earlier this year and recently rocketed up the iOS App Store charts, where it currently sits at number five among top free iPhone apps in the United States. The simplistic app that does nothing more than allow users to ping contacts with a simple "Yo" message may be gaining traction with its quirky ease of use, but a hack, confirmed by Yo founders to TechCrunch, may put users' personal information at risk.

yo-app-screens.jpg
According to the TechCrunch report, a student at Georgia Tech discovered a flaw that allows a nefarious user to discover the phone number of another Yo user, spoof a message from any Yo member and send a text-based push notification to recipient devices. Yo founder Or Arbel confirmed to TechCrunch the service was having "security issues," but did not provide details on the vulnerability, only stating that the issues will be resolved soon.
Founder Or Arbel has now confirmed that Yo was "having security issues".

He told TechCrunch: "Some of the stuff has been fixed and some we are still working on. We are taking this very seriously."

He said he could not reveal which hacks were still live. He said the company has brought in a specialist security team to deal with the issues

Arbel said he hoped the security problems would be fixed "in next few hours."
Click to expand...
According to Valleywag, the idea for Yo came from Israeli investor and Mobli CEO Moshe Hogeg, who wanted an easy way to communicate with his secretary. Developer Or Arbel ran with the idea and created the Yo app, which Hogeg uses. Life Before Us LLC, the company created by Abel, recently received $1 million in angel funding to continue development of the Yo app.

Article Link: Simplistic 'Yo' Messaging App Soars in App Store Charts, Proves Vulnerable to Hacking
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/20/yo-vulnerable-hacking/
Z

Zxxv

macrumors 68040
Nov 13, 2011
3,558
1,104
UK
Is that the iPhone 6?

I like how they added the Square to the home button. Makes it look nicer.
 
nfl46

nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,345
8,696
Zxxv said:
Is that the iPhone 6?

I like how they added the Square to the home button. Makes it look nicer.
Click to expand...

You're joking right. Look down at your device...my iPhone 5 looks just like that. Unless you have something different.
 
C

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,555
1,666
Redondo Beach, California
This could be the start of something big.

SO finally users are so dumb they need a special app for each message they send. I think I will make a "What's up?" app and then a few other apps for sending various replies. I can have an entire ecosystem of message apps: "yo", What's Up", "Hey", "duh" and 50 or 100 others. My new message apps will fill the first 10 screens on the home page.

Do I need to translate these to other languages?

This might work even better in Chinese. I can make a huge pile of "one charter apps."
 
derbladerunner

derbladerunner

macrumors 6502
Sep 15, 2005
322
78
Maybe I'm too old or stupid for this, but what's the use case?

Say I want to invite someone for a dinner or movie, how do I invite him/her? How to agree on time or preference?

A simple "Yo" doesn't help, no? Is this the poke version of IM?

How is this popular when everybody already has WhatsApp, LINE, Skype or similar free messengers installed?
 
iSee

iSee

macrumors 68040
Oct 25, 2004
3,539
272
So now nefarious hackers can make it seem like you said "Yo" to someone you totally didn't say "Yo" to!

Good god, imagine the disruption! Teen social pecking-orders could be overturned all over the world! Is there no end to the depredations hacker wreak upon us?
 
C

crsh1976

macrumors 68000
Jun 13, 2011
1,560
1,730
pauliaK said:
Why would you ever need this? Some of the stuff and it's popularity is beyond me.
Click to expand...

It's a fad, like chatroulette, yolo and putting hashtags everywhere; besides, when you read stuff like :

"According to Valleywag, the idea for Yo came from Israeli investor and Mobli CEO Moshe Hogeg, who wanted an easy way to communicate with his secretary."

Makes you wonder how anyone thought this was a sound idea for an app, but then again, there are hundreds of fart apps out there too.
 
markcres

markcres

macrumors 6502
Mar 30, 2006
320
313
UK
What this app does is far too verbose. Would it please be possible to have an app that vocalises simple grunting sounds while I stitch a prehensile tail to my ass?
 
Z

Zxxv

macrumors 68040
Nov 13, 2011
3,558
1,104
UK
nfl46 said:
You're joking right. Look down at your device...my iPhone 5 looks just like that. Unless you have something different.
Click to expand...

I have 5s. Yes I was joking...kind of :D

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derbladerunner said:
Maybe I'm too old or stupid for this, but what's the use case?

Say I want to invite someone for a dinner or movie, how do I invite him/her? How to agree on time or preference?

A simple "Yo" doesn't help, no? Is this the poke version of IM?

How is this popular when everybody already has WhatsApp, LINE, Skype or similar free messengers installed?
Click to expand...

I think its for calling your secretary instead of using an intercom

and I guess lazy kids calling to mom to bring food?
 
C

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,555
1,666
Redondo Beach, California
derbladerunner said:
Maybe I'm too old or stupid for this, but what's the use case?...
Click to expand...

You must be either over 16 years old or don't have kids or don't work in a high school. This really DOES solve a problem.

The problem is, say a 15 year old girl texts her best friend or boyfriend and 3 or 4 minutes goes by and she does not get a reply. After the 5th minute she is certain the other person hates her and the relationship is over and her life is ruined and she is going to be a social outcast and so on and so on.

This let's the other person send a "yo" back which can done very quickly with zero thinking or typing.

There is a similar problem with some that goes the other direction. NOT getting a message for a long time (like a couple hours) means the same as not getting a reply in 4 minutes. They rarely care much what the message says so "yo" is as good as anything else.

It's hard for us old folks (those over 30) to understand but I've seen this kind of thing many times. The kids ARE smart enough to know that they might not get an instant reply during class time or whatever or at 3:00am but no instant return when he could have sent one is a big deal to very insecure people, like teens.
 
Z

Zxxv

macrumors 68040
Nov 13, 2011
3,558
1,104
UK
ChrisA said:
You must be either over 16 years old or don't have kids or don't work in a high school. This really DOES solve a problem.

The problem is, say a 15 year old girl texts her best friend or boyfriend and 3 or 4 minutes goes by and she does not get a reply. After the 5th minute she is certain the other person hates her and the relationship is over and her life is ruined and she is going to be a social outcast and so on and so on.

This let's the other person send a "yo" back which can done very quickly with zero thinking or typing.

There is a similar problem with some that goes the other direction. NOT getting a message for a long time (like a couple hours) means the same as not getting a reply in 4 minutes. They rarely care much what the message says so "yo" is as good as anything else.

It's hard for us old folks (those over 30) to understand but I've seen this kind of thing many times. The kids ARE smart enough to know that they might not get an instant reply during class time or whatever or at 3:00am but no instant return when he could have is a big deal in very insecure people, like teens.
Click to expand...

Didn't apple solve this with read reports?

you see they've read it. They don't reply. You assume they are busy. Seems very simple :)

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Steve247 said:
I don't think the 5S has the square. That's the one this user might have.
Click to expand...

I was making a joke :D yes I have 5s
 
saving107

saving107

macrumors 603
Oct 14, 2007
6,384
33
San Jose, Ca
AstronomyiPhone said:
True.

But seriously, though: "This app has serious security issues: here's a [Direct Link]!"
Click to expand...

Your comment is hilarious and so is the fact that I had no idea this app existed, and how do I find out about it, this app has a security flaw that makes you vulnerable to being hacked but follow this direct link to download it, because at this point why not.
 
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