July 2012
Bitdefender Clueful Privacy App Removed From Apple App Store
Apple Reverses Decision to Approve Clueful for App Store
Bitdefender’s Clueful, the ground-breaking app considered by tech media as a safeguard to iPhone owners’privacy, has been removed from Apple’s App Store.
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.
Clueful was created under the belief that iPhone owners should be able to learn which apps may be behaving unscrupulously with their personal data. The Clueful team reaffirms its commitment to continued development of Clueful and will resubmit to Apple.
During Clueful’s analysis of more than 60,000 popular iOS apps, our team found that:
- 42.5% do not encrypt users’personal data, even when sending it over public Wi-Fi
- 41.4 percent can track a user’s location
- Almost one in five of the apps analyzed can access your entire Address Book; some even send your information to the cloud without even encrypting it
“While most app developers use this information for legitimate purposes, others might not,”said Bitdefender Chief Security Researcher Catalin Cosoi. “Clueful was the best way for iPhone owners to know the difference. While Clueful remains off the App Store, we are working hard toward understanding why our app was removed and to develop the app to improve its chances of staying there.”
About Bitdefender®
Bitdefender is the creator of one of the world's fastest and most effective lines of internationally certified internet security software. The company is an industry pioneer, introducing and developing award-winning protection since 2001. Today, Bitdefender technology secures the digital experience of around 400 million home and corporate users across the globe.
Recently, Bitdefender won a series of important awards and accolades in the global security industry, including "Product of the Year" by AV-Comparatives, "Best Repair 2012" by AV-Test, "Editor's Choice" and "The Best Antivirus for 2013" by PC Mag, that confirmed the antivirus software’s leadership status among security products.
More information about Bitdefender's products is available from the company's security press room. Additionally, Bitdefender publishes the HOTforSecurity blog, where readers can find stories from the underworld of internet fraud, scams, malicious software - and gossip.