Outlook for IPad has hidden spyware program

Outlook has many functions including:

• Mail
• Calendar
• Contacts

When running the program for the first time you would have been prompted with a message asking if you want Outlook to access each of those services. You can also turn off syncing Calendar and Contacts if you just want to use mail. I have not seen where it changes the Safari search engine to MSN as only Bing is an option for a Microsoft search engine. Any search typed in the Outlook app will definitely return sites from their network. This would be the same for the Google app or Duck Duck Go to return sites from their network if searched in their app.

I am not defending the action of Outlook to want you to use all their services, but they are not hidden and it would be a stretch to call it Spyware.

Dan_lem wrote:

Well I certainly haven’t agreed to MSN on my Safari! I assume Apple reviews the software codes before it is made available to download, so has there been one review here?

I agree that no app should be able to change the default search engine of safari. I am a developer and not aware of any public API that would allow an app to do that. If Outlook is using API that is not available to developers then it is a clear violation of the Guidelines allowed for app approval. Apple does review apps when submitted, but unfortunately they do not catch all violations.

If you do not mind, I have some questions to help clarify for me what you are observing. I downloaded the app to see for myself, but do not have an outlook account to get past the initial setup page.

• Did it change your Search Engine in Safari when you go to Settings > Safari > Search Engine?
• Did Outlook create a Safari Extension when you go to Settings > Safari > Extensions?
• Did it only open a MSN page when clicking a search link while using Outlook?
• When you opened the Safari app and not using Outlook, were the searches there showing MSN pages?
• Did everything return to normal when the app was deleted?

Apps can use their own browser window while that app is open and direct any searches you put into that search field to return their own results, but from my understanding it appears to have changed the Safari app when not using Outlook. If that is the case, I would recommend using the "Report a Problem" link in the App Store for the Outlook app. It is toward the bottom of the info page for the app.

The Microsoft Outlook app itself most certainly did not alter your Safari Search preferences. Something else is going on.