Around 256 apps have been busted by iTunes app store for furtively collecting vital user information such as e-mail addresses and serial numbers from users. This information can allegedly enable users to be tracked.

The apps were first discovered by app analytics service Source DNA. According to the company, most of these apps with over a million download so far are created in China but are available worldwide.

Like Us on Facebook

CNN Money reports that app owners were unaware of the circumstance as it is the software creator's server, Youmi, which reportedly permitted developers to promote their apps. Youmi is receiving all these private data, hence violating Apple's terms and conditions with regard to privacy. Furthermore, the software's intricate pattern made it almost invisible, thus slipping through the keen eyes of developers and Apple's sentinel.

The founder of Source DNA Nate Lawson said that "this is the first time we've found apps live in the App Store that are violating user privacy by pulling data from private APIs... it's definitely the kind of stuff that Apple should have caught." 

As per The Telegraph, several free-downloaded iOS apps, as a form of compensation, sell customer information to advertisers. For example, the Flashlight app sells locations, while Endomondo app gives out birthdays and locations. However, these 256 apps went beyond the line by storing e-mail address, which could serve as an avenue to gain access to other accounts like banks.

Although no apps were named, after Source DNA informed Apple about the issue on Sunday, the company quickly responded by deleting and banning the offending apps the following day.

In a statement released by Apple, the tech giant said that any "apps using Youmi's SDK will be removed from the App Store and any new apps submitted to the App Store using this SDK will be rejected."

TagsApps banned by Apple, Source DNA, Youmi, Youmi SDK, iTunes App Store