Can a external downloaded app cause malware on my iPad?

osksiIdk wrote:

Hi I see you are on top I don't know why but I wonder if you are a bot I am in Thailand and I downloaded an app from one of the channels in youtube it is an external app I did not download that app from the app store but I downloaded it through google and it let me install a profile so that I can access the app The app is from british from china i know its fake but i want to download it and i wonder if my ipad is infected with malware virus i deleted the app and i wonder if you are an apple employee who replied to me or are you an apple ai

Highlights added in the above.

Nobody knows whether you loaded malware. Nobody can know. Not without reverse-engineering the app.

Is it possible malware was loaded? Yes.

If I were taking over responsibility for this iPhone, I would factory reset this iPhone and would not restore the user’s backup, and would require changing all passwords, passcodes, and passkeys. I’d probably also set this iPhone as supervised, to prevent this from happening again.

But this is your iPhone.

As for replies here, this is a user-to-user forum. Apple may or may not read replies here, and seldom posts. AFAIK, Apple doesn’t post replies using AI here. Some users here do unfortunately post what appears to be GPT-generated text. That GPT-generated text which may or may not be relevant to the question, and may or may not even be correct.

This text is not GPT-generated. Nor am I an AI. Yeah, I know, an AI could lie, and a GPT could generate a lie. 🤷🏼‍♂️

osksiIdk wrote:

I am in Thailand and I downloaded an app from one of the channels in youtube it is an external app I did not download that app from the app store but I downloaded it through google and it let me install a profile so that I can access the app

Yes, that is risky. Delete the app and the profile.

The app is from british from china i know its fake but i want to download it and i wonder if my ipad is infected with malware virus i deleted the app and i wonder if you are an apple employee who replied to me or are you an apple ai

We can't say what, if any damage the app has done.

This is a user-to-user forum. No Apple employees will respond to you here. And, while we have had an infestation of bots, LotusPilot is not one of them. No one who has earned that many points for helping people is a bot.

No, I'm not a "bot" - and neither do I resort to using [largely useless] AI tools to answer questions here. I am a fully cognisant human being - but then if I wasn't, how would you tell the difference? 🙂

Contributors here are all end-users, just like you. Other than the Site Moderation team - who ensure that contributors follow the Terms of Use (ToU) that govern participation - Apple does not monitor or otherwise participate within the ASC Community.

Installing an App profile to circumvent built-in controls is risky. You would be well advised to only download/install Apps from the Apple App Store. Apps that are obtained from the App Store are vetted by Apple during the submission process.

Unless you are within the European Union (EU), Apps can only be downloaded and installed from the Apple App Store. As such, all installable Apps will have been vetted by Apple - and is very unlikely to include malware.

Within the EU, Apps can also be installed from alternative App Stores. Apps from these sources may be less trustworthy.

osksiIdk wrote:

I downloaded an external app.

Side-loading?

Reverse-engineer the app, and let us know.

Is there a chance of getting malware?

Is there a chance? Yes. There is always a chance with unknown code.

Existing run-time checks remain in place, though side-loading does bypass the technical and policy and privacy checks run during the Apple App Store submission process.

Whether the app is entirely benign, or is malware, or is shady, or just wants to pillage your data or metadata, or phish your friends, is associated with some activity or content that Apple doesn’t allow in its App Store, or whatever else, nobody here knows.

Hello again ~ In the future please try and include all the appropriate information about your issue so that we may assist you as efficiently as possible. From what you’re describing there could in fact be malware or you could certainly have introduced something damaging to your iPad. Follow the advice and delete it if possible.

As far as insinuating that one of our senior members is a “bot” well…that is not really appropriate and it could be taken the wrong way. Plus I think your question about this was fully answered here…no?

Who’s REALLY Answering Our Questions Here… - Apple Community

~Katana-San~

Hello~ This is what Apple has to say on this issue…not sure we can help you. Click on below…

Installing apps through alternative app distribution in the European Union - Apple Support*

*Purchases from apps installed through alternative app distribution

Any purchases you make outside of the App Store or the App Store’s In-App Purchase system aren’t supported by Apple. You can check where you downloaded an app from in Settings and get support.

For help with purchases of apps, purchases within apps, and subscriptions, contact the alternative app marketplace developer or the app developer.

~Katana-San~

MrHoffman wrote:

This text is not GPT-generated. Nor am I an AI. Yeah, I know, an AI could lie, and a GPT could generate a lie. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I rue the day when an AI can convincingly impersonate you!