Apple is scrambling to clean up its iTunes App Store for the second time in as many months following another influx of apps that secretly gather personal information.
Discovered by analytics firm SourceDNA, the apps — which numbered in excess of 250 — were built using a software development kit provided by Youmi, a Chinese advertising company. Once compiled and distributed on the App Store, those applications gathered email addresses, serial numbers, and other personal identifying information from the people who used them.
Apple confirmed the breach to BuzzFeed News, noting that it's in the process of removing affected apps from the App Store. "This is a violation of our security and privacy guidelines," a company spokesperson explained. "The apps using Youmi's SDK will be removed from the App Store and any new apps submitted to the App Store using this SDK will be rejected. We are working closely with developers to help them get updated versions of their apps that are safe for customers and in compliance with our guidelines back in the App Store quickly."
Apple grappled with a similar issue last month, when dozens of malware-infected apps were unwittingly compiled and uploaded to the App Store by developers tricked into using a bogus SDK.