9to5Mac:<\/p>\n
Brazilian users browsing the App Store rankings in categories
\nsuch as Navigation, Travel, and Weather have noticed a growing
\nnumber of poorly made games appearing among the top results, many
\nof them featuring AI-generated illustrations of animals as their
\napp icons.<\/p>\n
As it turns out, these are so-called jacket apps, which are just a
\nfront for hidden betting and gambling apps. A 9to5Mac
\ninvestigation has uncovered more than 60 apps that behave exactly
\nas depicted in their App Store screenshots when accessed from
\nvirtually anywhere in the world, except Brazil.<\/p>\n
When opened from a Brazilian IP address, the same apps instead
\nreveal online betting platforms, as shown in the example below,
\nwhich is currently the top app in the Weather category.<\/p>\n
Obviously the main problem is that these apps disguise themselves Trojan Horse-style, and slip through App Store review undetected. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s reasonable to think App Store review could catch every attempt at this sort of thing though\u2009\u2014\u2009if the horses are disguised well-enough, some of them are going to slip through. That\u2019s actually fine.<\/p>\n
But the first example 9to5Mac cites isn\u2019t well disguised at all. What sense does it make that \u201cPotatoPlot Puzzle\u201d\u2009\u2014\u2009a game featuring a rabbit potato farmer\u2009\u2014\u2009is a weather app? How is that not a red flag right there?<\/p>\n