iPhone: These 84 apps are stealing your money, uninstall them

Reputed to be more secure than Android by Apple, the iPhone and iOS do not always escape fraudulent applications and scams. In March 2021, antivirus specialist Avast shared a list of 133 scam apps who abused Apple’s subscription system. The Sensor Tower site estimated that these apps had accumulated 500 million downloads and 365 million in sales.

A year later, the situation remains critical and more than 60% of these malicious apps are still on the App Store. For VPN Check, these are 84 applications that continue to serve on the Apple store. The latter are known as “fleeceware” and they use a simple – but formidable – method to defraud users.

behind the term fleeceware hide photo editing applications, horoscopes or clairvoyance services. They are not dangerous for your device and mainly target your wallet. This approach therefore allows under the radars of the App Store. Once installed, the app prompts the user to pay to continue using it. Most often, a fleeceware includes a trial period before pushing the owner of an iPhone or iPad to get their hands on the wallet.

Apple benefits indirectly from the scam

The problem is that these applications come with a subscription that can be very expensive. The sums withdrawn may exceed several tens of euros, even hundreds of euros per month. A method that pays off as VPN Check explains. “We found that in June 2022, active fleeceware apps had 7.2 million unique downloads, generating total net revenue of $8.6 million in a single month. If we do an annual estimate based on June 2022 numbers, we have a $103.2 million AppStore subscription scam going on, based only on apps reported by Avast”.

A large sum while these 84 applications are easily identifiable. For the site at the origin of this discovery, the slowness of Apple to react could be explained by the magnitude of the sums collected. Indeed, Apple charges a commission of 15% or 30% on in-app purchases and subscriptions made via the App Store. A financial windfall which is also controversial and pushes the European Union to investigate the practices of the American giant.

“It’s almost ridiculous how easy it is to identify these apps based solely on publicly available information. Just read some of the one-star reviews on the App Store. We have no doubt that Apple will eventually fix this problem. It’s just in their interest that it takes a long, long time.”estimates VPNCheck.

For several months, the Apple brand and Google have had to deal with the rise of “fleeceware”. While waiting for Apple to make a decision, here is the list of the 84 applications still active on the App Store. You can also find the complete list (with AppStore ID and URLs) at this address.

The list of fraudulent applications available on the App Store:

1. aipic – Magic Photo Editor
2. Astro+ Horoscope & Astrology
3. Astroline: The Daily Horoscope
4. Auto Sticker Maker Studio
5. Avatar Maker Character Creator
6. Baby Sticker- Track Milestones
7. Bass Booster Volume Power Amp
8. Beat maker pro – DJ Drum Pad
9. Beat.ly Music Video Maker
10. Cartoons Me – Photo Art Editor
11. Dazz Cam- D3D Photo Effect
12. Dazzle – Insta stories editor
13. Dizzi – Photo & Video Effects
14. DJ it! – Music Mixer Pad
15. Drink Water ∙ Daily Reminder
16. Drums: Play Beats & Drum Games
17. edjing Mix – dj app
18. edjing Pro – music remix maker
19. Equalizer Fx: Bass Booster App
20. Equalizer+ HD music player
21. Facelab – Face Editor & Beauty
22. FaceMe－Fun Personality Tests
23. Facetory: Face Yoga & Exercise
24. FLMX – Video Editor
25. Frame – Slideshow Video Maker
26. Frames – Picture Collage Maker
27. Girl Games: Unicorn Slime
28. Guitar – Chords, Tabs & Games
29. Guitar – real games & lessons
30. Guitar Play – Games & Songs
31. Guitar Tuner – Ukulele & Bass
32. Handset – Second Phone Number
33. Highlight Story Cover Maker!
34. Horoscope 2019 and Palm Reader
35. Hub – Story Templates Maker
36. Hyper Cleaner: Clean Phone
37. iCons – Icon Changer App +
38. Impresso – Insta Story Editor
39. iWidget Pro: Custom widgets
40. Jambl: DJ Band & Beat Maker
41. Jigsaw Puzzle – Brain Games
42. Karaoke Songs – Voice Singing
43. Life Palmistry – AI Palm & Tag
44. Lift: Story Maker
45. Live Wallpaper Maker: 4K Theme
46. Loop Maker Pro – Music Maker
47. Lucky Life – Future Seer
48. MagicFX – Magic Video Effects
49. Memoristo: Brain Test, IQ Game
50. MenuMaker!
51. Metronome – Tap Tempo & Rhythm
52. Metronome Pro – Beat & Tempo
53. Mood Balance: Self Care Tracker
54. Music Zen – Relaxing Sounds
55. Nebula: Horoscope & Astrology
56. Password Manager – Lock Apps
57. Path – Horoscope & Astrology
58. PDF Scanner: Document Scan
59. Photo Collage – Collageable
60. Photo To Sketch – Drawing book
61. Photoly Remove Object & Editor
62. Piano – Lessons & Tiles Games
63. Piano Crush – Keyboard Games
64. Pixomatic – Background eraser
65. Presets for Lightroom – Vidl
66. COLLECT: Color by Number
67. HD Ringtones ∙ Ringtone Maker
68. ScanGuru: PDF Document Scanner
69. Scanner App ∙ Scan & Sign PDF
70. SlidePic – Slideshow Maker
71. Slimy: Anxiety Relief Slime 3D
72. SpeedPro Slow speed video edit
73. Sticker Maker – BeSticky
74. Stickerfy: Sticker Maker
75. Sweet Pics – Baby Photo Edito
76. TeasEar: ASMR Anti-Stress Slime
77. ToonApp Cartoon Photo Editor
78. Translate Camera – Speak On
79. Translator Guru: Voice & Text
80. UltraFX – Effect Video Maker
81. Video Puzzles – Magic Puzzle
82. VOCHI Video Effects Editor
83. WeDrum: Drums, Real Drum Games
84. PLUS+ Widget – Photo & Weather