Pirate streaming app for iOS tricked App Store Review to get approved by Apple

Apple has many guidelines that developers need to follow when they want to distribute an app through the App Store, and there is an App Store Review team that checks whether apps comply with the rules. However, it’s not rare to see apps tricking Apple in order to get approved, and this happened recently with a pirate streaming app.

Pirate streaming app gets App Store approval

A peculiar app called “Collect Cards: Store box” has been available on the App Store for over a year. The App Store description doesn’t say much about it, while the screenshots show a simple interface with what appears to be an app for managing photos and videos.

But in reality, when users download the app, it turns into a pirate streaming platform, with content from Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and even Apple TV+.

Although this app has gone unnoticed all this time, it recently reached the top #2 of the most downloaded free apps in the App Store in Brazil. But how did the developers manage to trick the App Store Review team?

9to5Mac has learned that the app checks where the user is located to determine whether to show the basic interface seen in the App Store screenshots or the pirate streaming interface. For example, the app hides everything related to streaming for users in the US, so people at Apple would only see a basic app for photos and videos instead.

We don’t know for sure in which regions other than Brazil pirated streaming content can be accessed, but the app itself is available in many countries around the world.

• $7B in attempted App Store fraud blocked by Apple, says the company

Developers constantly looking for ways to trick Apple

This isn’t the first time an app has used location data to trick the App Store Review. In 2017, Uber was accused of working on a “geofence” for Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. When the app was run inside this geofence, it automatically disabled codes used to fingerprint and track the user across the web.

In 2021, documents revealed that the App Store Review team has more than 500 human experts to review more than 100,000 apps every week. Even so, the vast majority of apps go through automated review processes to check if they violate the App Store guidelines before undergoing the manual review process.

Apple is yet to comment on the situation. The app was still available for free (with in-app purchases) on the App Store when this article was published.