Together, these tools allow users of jailbroken devices to download and install pirated apps. I wish I was better at my job :( What’s my first and last name?”īy far the most popular method of accessing pirated Apple apps is through AppTrackr, and its related iOS application Installous. “I work for Apple’s law firm and have been trying to get Appulous shut down since the beginning. One quiz took a stab at Apple lawyer Ian Ramage, the author of several take down requests: In 2009, each of the three million pirates a day who wanted to access the then infamous piracy site Appulous had to answer questions known only to cracking scene insiders. In response, pirates introduce CAPTCHA image verification to hinder the removal of copyright apps from file sharing websites and relocated content servers.Īt best, the effort increased the operating costs of the pirate machine, prompting developers to call for donations and place advertisements within the download process.īut the pirates inevitably prevailed, and even mocked Apple’s take down efforts.
Late last year – and possibly earlier – it attempted to tackle App Trackr by issuing take down notices. What is known is that Cupertino has tried, and failed, to stop the piracy onslaught. With a multi-billion dollar industry at stake, the company has refused to respond. The company was asked whether its application design could be hardened against reverse engineering efforts - central to the pirating of apps. The security vendor said more than 92 percent of paid iOS apps were pirated, and every paid Android app had been ripped off.Īpple has refused to discuss app piracy with SC.
The app had some 200,000 installs.Īpp security vendor Axran, which ran a study on piracy earlier this year, cited KPMG figures that put the value of the app development industry at US$139.5 billion. Italian developer Flippo Bigarella has similarly reported a whopping 92 percent piracy rate on his popular app Springtomize 2 for jailbroken devices.