Readdle Spark?

Nope. It is running plain vanilla IOS 8.3. iPhone 6, iPad Air, and apple watch updated to firmware 1.0.1

mrf

It appears even more sinister than I thought. After deleting the app from the phone and from my iPad, there is no trace it was ever installed as an application. It still doesn't show up on the Apple store - at least not under either Spark or Readdle Spark - despite Readlle insisting it is there. When I look at "purchased apps", which should list all the apps I've ever downloaded from the App store, installed or not, it isn't there or anywhere else.

How is it possible for an approved (????) app to install itself under IOS without leaving a trace of its existence. Or is it running as a web app that installs as a saved URL that is disguised as an application?

mrf

OK. I get that. That's also what I thought. But that begs the question. The app installed without permission and hijacked my default email settings. I did not authorize its installation. I use two factor authorization, but didn't even get a single request for permission to install whatever it is. Therefore, my question remains. Why isn't Apple's hair on fire over this? Readdle claims the app is on the Apple IOS App Store. I can't find it. They offer a link on their web site, but I'm not clicking it because I'm not sure where it goes (and there is no text version of the link that appears). The app was launched last Friday (May 29) to modest fanfare. I had never heard of it before receiving the emails, but wasn't interested in it. Unfortunately, it also appears that I wasn't asked for permission to install it; it just installed itself when I was responding to one of the emails through something that looked completely like my own email clients. The emails were from frequent correspondents and were about topics we had been communicating about very recently. So there was no reason to expect anything untoward and I know that both people installed Spark deliberately. I DID NOT and never authorized its installation. So I'm back to the same question. How is this possible under the walled garden of IOS? I'm running 8.3 using an iPhone 6 and iPad Air.

mrf

deggie: despite your claims, a browse through iTunes on my Mac Pro shows the app installed from the App Store even though there is no trace of it in any of the stores maintained under iOS itsel on any of my three devices. again, let me reiterate that there is no circumstance under which I gave permission with one to two-factor authorization for this app to be allowed to be installed on my devices. My only error was to read the messages under what now appears to have been the Spark app that must have interpreted my reading the messages as permission to install the app. The only problem is that I wasn't informed, asked, or in any way permitted to choose whether I wanted the app installed. I have a developer license and have written a few small apps for personal use, but it is clearly my understanding that apps are not permitted to be installed without explicitly authorizing their installation through the iOS App Store. So my question still is whether or not there is a security hole in IOS that permitted this unwanted app to install itsel, or whether Readdle is taking advantage of an ambiguity in the SDK that somehow permits this "tacit" approval in the absence of explicit permission.

ChrisJ: I did find it in the App Store late today, and I posted a comment under install issues. My Mac Pro serves as the hub for ICloud and it shows that Spark was installed on Saturday May 30 from the App Store at a time approximately four minutes after I received the first notification of an email from a Spark client. Since I prefer email notifications OFF, I was kind of surprised when the notification popped up on my iPad screen. All I did was to go to the notification and try to figure out what it was. While looking, I read the email. That was it. The next day, a second email notification popped up from another friend using the Spark client. At this point I still was unaware of Sparks existence, but had a bit more time to investigate. That's when I traced it back to the email, which required a reply immediately. So I did. While replying, the email interface looked difference than I'm accustomed to, but only slightly. I sent the email and then went hunting for the app. Discovered it installed on the iPad, then on my iPhone, and on my watch, despite not using either the iPhone or watch for email (the watch isn't even configured for email), but spark was there. It had hijacked the default, created its own IMAP connection to accounts that I prefer to use in pop3, and effectively disabled my filters. I, of course, deleted the app from each device, and after finding its trace under iTunes, deleted the Ipsw file from there too. I've been in communication with Apple and with Readdle. Readdle is being unresponsive so far, and I just initiated contact with apple. My posts here are primarily to find out whether anyone else has noticed this, or whether anyone has a rational explanation for how this might have happened.