Two days after a software developer’s app debuted on the Apple Store, the program got the boot without explanation.
The App dubbed “SpyKey” had ranked high in the Entertainment section of the store very quickly, presumably for its overarching spying tools. The software worked by purchasing the $4.99 app on your iDevice, and installing a secondary program from the developer on a computer. Once running in the PC background, any written activity on the victim’s computer could be viewed via the iPhone application.
While the app was removed without explanation, it’s clearly for privacy violations (Apple’s right according to “Terms and Conditions”). The developer claims the program was intended for parental control in mind; however, users may have had other ideas. For instance, it’s the perfect tool for checking up on significant other/spouse email and instant messages, or stealing passwords, just like many other key-logging software applications.
Much of the to-do about the situation is that SpyKey actually made it onto the Apple Store, which can be difficult as it is, especially when your application has the ability to be used for malicious and criminal purposes. It’s likely such a slip won’t be taken lightly by the big bad Steve Jobs.
For more on interesting smartphone application applications, check out Hound Music Discovery and Evernote for Windows Phone.
