Apple removes some ad blockers that installed root certificate

For privacy reasons, Apple has removed some apps from the App Store that installed their own root certificate, including some ad blockers. The apps were able to route traffic through their own servers to filter ads, raising privacy concerns.

In a statement to iMore, Apple said that some apps from the App Store that installed root certificates have been removed: “This enabled the apps to monitor customer network data, which in turn can be used to breach SSL/TLS security. .” The company says it is working with developers to undo the risks and bring the apps back to the App Store.

These include ad blockers such as Been Choice. These kinds of apps forward users’ traffic via VPN to their own servers in order to thoroughly filter ads not only from the browser but also from apps. Apple offers from iOS 9 the ability to developers to make apps that block ads, but only in Safari. The current measure does not affect these types of apps.

To remove ads in apps other than the browser, developers made detours that required installing root certificates. User traffic forwarding enables those developers to monitor sensitive data as man-in-the-middle. It is not clear why Apple allowed the apps in the first place. Been Choice already has indicated adapt its app in such a way that it no longer removes advertising in, among others, the apps of Google, Facebook and Pinterest.