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Apple Accidentally Lets Pirated Movies and TV Shows App Into App Store

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Apple has accidentally allowed an iPhone and iPad app that allows you to stream pirated movies and TV shows for free into the App Store, according to a post from Kevin Aubin on Threads. The post was earlier reported by The Verge.

iOS-App-Store-General-Feature-JoeBlue.jpg

While the so-called "Univer Note" app's description says that it "can easily help you record every day's events and plan your time," it actually lets you stream movies that are still playing in theaters, like Smile 2 and Venom: The Last Dance. You can also watch shows from streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and even Apple TV+. Oops!

It appears that the French-language app has been available in the App Store since September, but it is unclear how long the app has offered pirated movies and TV shows instead of calendar functionality. This app clearly went undetected by Apple's App Review team, and it should be removed from the App Store promptly after receiving news coverage.

Update: It appears the pirated movies and TV shows are only visible in the app in certain countries, such as Canada and France. In the U.S., the app actually appears to be a basic calendar app, which may have helped it to stay under the radar until now.

Update 2: The app has been removed from the App Store.

Article Link: Apple Accidentally Lets Pirated Movies and TV Shows App Into App Store
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/11/04/apple-approves-pirated-movie-tv-show-app/
Last edited:
Just installed it to give it a try, can’t find anyway to view any movies. Just seems like a poorly made notes app.
 
It appears that the French-language app has been available in the App Store since September, but it is unclear how long the app has covertly offered pirated movies and TV shows. Apple's App Review team clearly made a mistake here, and the app should be removed from the App Store promptly after receiving news coverage.
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Or the App Review team allowed it so they could get their hands on this app to watch content for free. Apple App Review team helping consumers fight inflation and streaming services that raise prices every year above and beyond the rate of inflation. 🤣
 
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App review used to be actual developers. It’s not any more because of the economic realities and what that costs, and not every app gets personal eyeballs on it.

That’s how these failures happen.
 
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The way they do this is by a server side change. It looks like a note taking app by App Store Review, and the moment it gets approved, they switch it to the pirating app.

Very clever way of doing this.

Another way of doing this is when the date is under March 6, 2025 for example, when it gets approved before that date, it's a note taking app. The moment March 6, 2025 happens, the app switches to the pirating app.

Don't ask how I know this, I don't do this myself (I promiseee)
 
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theanimala said:
Just installed it to give it a try, can’t find anyway to view any movies. Just seems like a poorly made notes app.
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Update: It appears the pirated movies and TV shows are only visible in the app in certain countries, such as Canada and France. In the U.S., the app actually appears to be a basic calendar app, which may have helped it to stay under the radar until now.
 
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I remember wayyyyy back in the iPhone3g days there was an app that was little more than a color "Simon" game but when you pressed the colors in the right order it turned into a tethering app. I remember being on the AT&T Unlimited plan and downloading movies/tv shows from iTunes & streaming things.

Good times
 
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tennisproha said:
Apple app reviewer's are either overpaid developers or developers who can't read code but managed to pass the Apple interview process.
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App reviewers don't get the app's source code, so it doesn't matter if they can read/understand the source code. This just shows how easy it is to sneak in malware on the iOS app store and how apple's resistance to alt app stores with the claim of security is B.S.
 
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