Back in June, we flagged three instances of U.S.-sanctioned Russian banks sneaking client apps onto the App Store. Two months later, another example has climbed to the top of the iPhone App Store.
K8CHEN PRO is the latest example. The App Store listing is disguised as an AR-powered kitchen modeling app.
Launching the app drops the disguise rather quickly. The app’s privacy policy, linked from the App Store, cites being generated by “Free Privacy Policy Generator” which may also be a signal.
Anyway, the app is definitely a client app for T-Bank. What’s interesting to me is that these apps keep getting through the App Store’s review process.
Once they become publicized enough to climb the App Store chart, it’s obvious that they’re not the kind of apps that belong there. Curious situation.
The other instances from June are here and here.
Update: As expected, the app has been removed from the App Store.
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Zac Hall is a Senior Editor, covering Apple, apps, and AI. He joined 9to5Mac in 2013.
