IPhone messaging apps have sexual content, racism and bullying | Security

Over 1,500 reports of unwanted sexual approaches, many directed at children, were made in messaging apps available on the App Store. Information from a newspaper-led investigation The Washington Post and published this Friday (22). In all, over 130,000 reviews of six random iPhone chat apps (iOS) were reviewed, five of them ranked by the Apple Store as one of the top 100 social networks at the beginning of this month.

To identify assessments that contain complaints of unwanted sexual content, racism and bullying, O Washington post used a machine learning algorithm. The newspaper then manually inspected the more than 1,500 reviews that mentioned awkward situations.

Malicious apps may slow iPhone; know how to protect yourself

IPhone messaging apps have sexual content, racism and bullying Photo: Luciana Maline / dnetcIPhone messaging apps have sexual content, racism and bullying Photo: Luciana Maline / dnetc

IPhone messaging apps have sexual content, racism and bullying Photo: Luciana Maline / dnetc

Want to buy a cell phone, TV and other discounted products? Meet the Compare dnetc

According to the investigation, about 2% of all reviews of the Monkey app, ranked as the tenth most popular in the store's social networking category, contain reports of unwanted sexual experiences. Still, the app has been approved for users 12 and older. In ChatLive, in turn, the number rises to 19%. The other apps included in the analysis were Yubo, Chat For Strangers, Skout and Holla.

Harassment and other inappropriate behavior are not new to this type of app, which connects users to strangers through video calls. The problem, as pointed out by Washington post, which Apple has failed to monitor consumer reviews. So far, the company was distinguishing itself from its competitors by exerting more control over app entry into the store.

In response, Apple said it analyzes 100,000 applications per week using "a mix "We created the App Store to be a safe and reliable place for our customers to obtain applications and we take all reports of inappropriate or illegal contact seriously," the company spokesman Fred Sainz told the Washington post.

"If the purpose of these apps is not inappropriate, we want to give developers a chance to make sure they're complying with the rules, but we won't hesitate to remove them from the App Store if they don't," Sainz added. This week, the minimum age indicated for Monkey use has increased to 17 years. It is noteworthy, however, that all the random chat applications examined have been available at the Apple store for years.

iPhone XR or iPhone X? Tips for choosing from Apple phones

iPhone XR or iPhone X? Tips for choosing from Apple phones

Is iOS really worth it or status? Leave your opinion on dnetc Forum