A mysterious productivity app has made it to the top three free apps in the US App Store. The problem is that it is available exclusively in Russian, which immediately raised suspicions about its real purpose, writes 9to5mac.
AI chatbots from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google usually occupy the leading positions in the rating of the American App Store, which recently lost popularity only to the Peacock application due to attention to the reality show Love Island, as well as Threads and Planet Fitness. However, this Friday, a mysterious application called “Sirius” suddenly burst into the ranking.
The app’s icon resembles a star chart service, and the description hints that it’s designed to improve productivity.
“Perform any tasks with ease using the Pomodoro method. The classic timer for 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest is suitable for all areas of life: health, finances and career, everyday life, hobbies, self-development, recreation,” says the description of the program.
At the same time, the availability of the interface exclusively in Russian raises questions about the fact that the application got into the rating organically. 9to5mac suggested that this is a disguised client of Russia’s VTB Bank, and a quick Google search confirms these suspicions: Russian media are actively promoting Sirius and recommend downloading it as soon as possible.
VTB is under severe US sanctions, which prevents the bank from distributing its applications on the American market. This forces sanctioned entities to use third-party or disguised developer accounts to bypass Apple’s restrictions.
The app is likely to be removed from the App Store in the near future, but cases like this demonstrate that verification systems are not always effective at detecting masking.
Read also: Apple has removed the Russian messenger Max from the App Store due to sanctions
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