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 went into the App Store to install an app named Kimi. The description of the app said, “Compare and click on the two pictures to easily improve your observation skills.” But as it turned out, what those who installed the app were observing were popular television shows and movies that they had illegal access to thanks to the app.

As recently as this morning, the app remained in the App Store but was kicked out by Apple following a report by The Verge. The app was number 8 on Apple’s list of free entertainment apps and was number 46 on the free apps list. But there were some things about the app that were strange. For example, as The Verge pointed out, user comments didn’t seem to be appropriate for an app that claimed to test users’ vision.

Instead, comments from users bragged about how they used the app to watch “Frozen II” and one comment compared Kimi to Netflix. Data from Appfigures revealed that the app was launched in September 2023 and had generated 25,000 installations since then. There was no indication that Kimi tried to hide its real purpose in the App Store as opening the app for the first time revealed a home page with tabs on top that said “Movies,” “TV Shows,” and more. Under a Popular Movies heading, titles were listed that users could view.

After opening the Kimi app for the first time, this is what users would see

It isn’t clear whether the app is using torrents to allow users to stream movies and television shows, but it seems likely considering the number of dollars it would take to host these selections. That’s how Popcorn Time did its thing back in 2015 when it was known as “Netflix for pirates” before being removed from the App Store. Since Popcorn Time was open source, Movie DB.Net app used a fork of Popcorn Time’s code to create a torrent app that was listed in the App Store and was even given the green light by Apple to complete three updates. The app also is no longer listed in the App Store.

Kimi had some useful tools including a “Ranking” tab that showed users which movies or television shows were being viewed the most on the app. But after The Verge asked some pointed questions about the app to Apple, the gang in Cupertino removed Kimi from the iOS App Store, iPadOS App Store, and the macOS app store.

And to make it clear in this age of conspiracy theories, Apple removed the Kimi app. You do not have a problem with your vision that would require you to use the Kimi app to test your vision. That is if the Kimi app did perform such tests instead of hooking you up to content to be viewed illegally.

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