“Apple has removed the popular app, Calculator%, from its iOS App Store, just days after officials with the Durham, United Kingdom Police Department issued a warning that parents should be vigilant about apps just like it,” MacTrast reports.
“Calculator% — which was wildly popular among teenagers — appeared as if it were a legitimate, full-featured calculator app for iPhone and iPad,” MacTrast reports. “While it didn’t allow users to actually carry out mathematical calculations, the app was designed to allow hiding of sensitive photos and videos behind a passcode-protected ‘firewall’ that only the user would have had access to.”
“Though it’s no longer available, users who previously downloaded the app would be asked to ‘input a secret code into the calculator,’ which would allegedly open ‘a secret vault of images and video concealed to anyone without access,'” MacTrast reports. “‘Apple appears to have removed imitations as well, such as Calculator App Lock and Piano Pass, which asks users to play a secret tune to unlock their images,’ according to Business Insider.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple makes sharing photos and videos very easy; too easy in some cases, depending on the contents of the photographs and videos.
As we wrote back in August: We’re hoping Apple will just allow us to truly hide and password protect photos and videos right in the Photos app, or even in the camera app (via, for example, a lock/unlock icon in the Camera app where “locked” signifies that you’re currently shooting password-protected photo/video that will not be shared via My Photo Stream and that will be locked in iCloud Photo Library).
SEE ALSO:
New Nude app is a photo vault that uses AI to hide your sensitive photos – October 17, 2017
How to make sure you remove photos from iCloud Photo Library – October 10, 2017
How to hide photos and videos on your iPhone in a locked and private album – August 24, 2017
Second ‘Fappening’ hacker who targeted celebrity Apple accounts sentenced to 9 months in prison – January 26, 2017
36-year-old man to plead guilty to iCloud ‘Fappening’ celebrity nude photo theft – March 15, 2016
‘Fappening’ celebrity nude leak suspect alleged to have hacked 572 iCloud accounts – June 10, 2015
iCloud accounts at risk after hacker releases tool allowing access to any login – January 2, 2015
Jennifer Lawrence calls nude photo hacking a ‘sex crime’ – October 7, 2014
Apple’s iCloud security nightmare gets worse as more nude celebrity pics leak – September 21, 2014
Since the celebrity nude iCloud hacks, one third of Americans have improved their online security – September 8, 2014
Apple denies iCloud breach – September 3, 2014
How easy is it to crack into an Apple iCloud account? We tried to find out – September 3, 2014
Celeb nudes: Comprehensive review of forum posts reveals no mention of ‘Find My iPhone’ brute force technique – September 2, 2014
Apple’s iCloud is secure; weak passwords and gullible users are not – September 2, 2014
Apple: No iCloud breach in celebrity nude photos leak – September 2, 2014
FBI, Apple investigating alleged iCloud hack of celebrity nude, sex photos and videos – September 2, 2014
Celebrity or not, Apple isn’t responsible for your nude photos – September 2, 2014
Apple ‘actively investigating’ Jennifer Lawrence, other nude celebrity photos hack – September 1, 2014