Apple kicks out app from the App Store that gave users illegal access to movies and television shows،
Looking to test their vision, iPhone users took to the App Store to install an app called Kimi. The app's description said: “Compare and click the two images to easily improve your observation skills.” But it turned out that those who installed the app were watching popular TV shows and movies that they accessed illegally through the app.
Just this morning, the app remained in the App Store but was kicked out by Apple following a report from
The edge. The
app was number 8 on Apple's list of free entertainment apps and number 46 on the list of free apps. But there were some strange things in the app. For example, as The Verge pointed out, user feedback didn't seem appropriate for an app that claimed to test users' vision.
Instead, user comments bragged about how they used the app to watch “Frozen II” and one comment compared Kimi to Netflix. Data from
Application figures revealed that the app launched in September 2023 and has generated 25,000 installs since then. There is no indication that Kimi attempted to hide his true purpose in the App Store, as opening the app for the first time revealed a home page with tabs at the top reading “Movies”, “Shows”. television” and more. Under the Popular Movies heading, titles were listed for users to watch.
After opening the Kimi app for the first time, this is what users would see
It's unclear whether the app uses torrents to let users stream movies and TV shows, but it seems likely considering how many dollars it would take to host these selections. That's how Popcorn Time did its job in 2015, when it was known as “Netflix for pirates” before being removed from the App Store. Since Popcorn Time was open source, the Movie DB.Net app used a fork of Popcorn Time's code to create a torrent app listed in the App Store and even received the green light from Apple to make three updates up to date. The app is also no longer listed in the App Store.
Kimi had some useful tools, including a “Rankings” tab that showed users which movies or TV shows were most watched on the app. But after The Verge asked Apple pointed questions about the app, the Cupertino gang removed Kimi from the iOS App Store, the iPadOS App Store, and the macOS App Store.
And just to be clear, in the age of conspiracy theories, Apple has removed the Kimi app. You do not have a vision problem that would require you to use the Kimi app to test your vision. That's if the Kimi app performed such tests instead of linking you to content to view illegally.
