An iPhone app designed to squeal on other apps that were potentially breaching privacy rules – by tracking users or accessing their address book – has been pulled from the Apple store after just two months.
Neither Apple nor the app’s developers, Romanian-based Bitdefender, have revealed why the app, called Clueful, has been withdrawn.
The app was approved by Apple on May 22, but the company has now reversed its decision.
In a statement, Bitdefender said: “Apple informed Bitdefender’s product development team of the removal – for reasons we are studying – after it was approved under the same rules. iPhone owners who already use Clueful privacy may continue to do so.”
Apple has refused to comment on the move, although observers claim that Clueful could either be putting users off purchasing other apps or it violated its terms of service.
Speaking at the launch of Clueful, Bitdefender’s chief security researcher Catalin Cosoi highlighted the vast amount of data that other apps can harvest.
He said: “App developers can ask for, and receive, access to your precise location, your contact list and more information about you when you install their products on your iPhone.
“Your iPhone is probably the most personal device you own, holding vast amounts of information about what you do, who you are and where you go. While most app developers use this information for legitimate purposes, others might not.”
