IOS 14.5 and iPassword app developer update

HHG424 wrote:

Have you heard from the developer of ipassword. The email address we found was kicked back

I would never store my passwords in an app like that. The sad truth is that the App Store is filled with scams, abandoned apps, and junk apps.

I only replied to this question because it was in the "Developer" forum in Apple Support Communities. This forum is meant as a place to discuss Apple developer tools like Xcode. Unfortunately, people sometimes think this "Developer" forum is a venue to contact a "developer".

I could give you all kinds of tips on how to spot these kinds of scam/junk/abandoned apps, but that isn't going to help you if you are already stuck with such an app. I'm afraid your passwords are gone forever. If you did have some knowledge of Xcode and were able to pull data from your phone, you might be able to recover your passwords. They probably aren't even encrypted or anything.

There is a story that has been circulating for a few weeks of one particular developer who has developed a bit of an obsession with exposing scam apps. People seem to have the reaction, "OMG!! How can this be true???" But any legitimate developer would have the reaction, "OMG!! People are just now finding out about this???"

For the future, here are some things to look out for:

1) Look for the existence of the developer outside the App Store. Is there a web site? No? Better not download!

2) Who is the developer - specifically? Is it a company name or a business name. Ignore the "Copyright" field. That's fake. Look at the "Seller" field. A company name will have been verified by Apple to actually exist as a company. It may be a company that makes worthless, junk, or scam apps, but it is a real company. But if it is just a person's name, then literally anything goes. Do not even assume that person actually exists. Malicious apps are always registered under these personal accounts - always.

3) Look for an "App Support" link on the App Store web site. You will only find this on the Apple web site: https://apps.apple.com. Do a google search for the app and click on the app.apple.com hit. You won't find the App Support link in the actual app on your iPhone or iPad.

4) Do the same with the "Privacy Policy" link. At least this one is in the App Store app.

5) If either of the "App Support" or "Privacy Policy" links are fake or dead, don't download!

6) Double-check those "App Support" or "Privacy Policy" link even if they work or don't appear to be fake. Are they just templates or are they real? Does the privacy policy even mention the app or the developer? Compare it to any real privacy policy you find on the web.

7) App rating - always fake. Well, not always. If the app rating is junk, then it is probably real. Don't download. If the app rating is 5 stars, it is always fake. Any real, legitimate app will have a good number of 1-star reviews from clueless people. My apps reviews were virtually perfect and I only had 4.6 or 4.7.

8) App reviews - again, fake. Again, not always. If the recent reviews are all trashing the app, they are probably real. If the app reviews openly discuss scams or illegal practices from the developer, don't download!

9) Look for the new Apple Privacy Dashboard. Is that real and trustworthy? Of course not! But if the developer as actually entered something, it means that the app has recently been updated and will probably run on iOS 14. It means the developer actually cares, which is a good thing. Maybe the developer only cares about scamming people, but that's still caring!

10) Look at the developer's other apps. Do they look like scams? If so, they are. Are there more than 3? From a single person? Impossible! That's fake and/or a scam. Are there 50! Total scam!

I realize all of this will not help anyone who has already downloaded a bunch of scam apps and handed over their passwords. But please review these steps for any future downloads - yes, every single one.

If your passwords are all gone now, or if you have given all of your passwords to some other app that fails any of the criteria I listed above, you should start now and go through your accounts and do a "forgot my password" on each and change them.

Apple provides a password manager built into the operating system. That's what I use. Another legitimate password manager is 1Password: https://1password.com

Don't mourn over what has been lost. Learn a lesson and move forward with more knowledge and more cynicism.