There are a lot of people who don't have a tech background and don't understand.Įrwin does not believe that Apple was singling VirusBarrier out, as several other anti-virus apps have also been eliminated from the App Store. Even as clear as we were about what our product did, there were still customers who were confused as to why the app was scanning their iPad or iPhone.

Even with an App Store description that stated VirusBarrier scanned email attachments and cloud files, Intego would still receive negative comments from people who didn't read the description and didn't understand the app's purpose. The company 'went up to the executive level' at Apple and described exactly what VirusBarrier does, but Apple was firm on the app not returning to the App Store.Īpple, Erwin says, does not want people to be misled into believing that there are viruses on iOS, a position that he understands. 'We were as clear as we could be that this wasn't a scanner, that it was scanning email attachments and cloud files,' said Erwin. Intego filed an appeal and rewrote the App Store description with 'obnoxiously' clear wording, and that's when the company learned about a wider crackdown on anti-virus apps. MacRumors spoke to Erwin this afternoon to shed some light on why Apple opted to remove VirusBarrier after four and a half years in the App Store.Īccording to Erwin, when Apple notified Intego of VirusBarrier's removal from the App Store, the company told him the app's App Store description was 'misleading' and could potentially cause customers to believe that there are viruses on iOS. Intego CEO Jeff Erwin announced the removal of the app from the iOS App Store yesterday, and pointed towards a larger culling of all anti-virus apps available on Apple's platform. VirusBarrier was an app designed to scan external files stored in the cloud or attached to emails, to detect viruses that might be sent on to vulnerable devices.

Intego, a company that produces anti-virus software for Mac and iOS, recently had its VirusBarrier iOS app pulled from the App Store. Apple appears to be cracking down on 'anti-virus' apps in the iOS App Store, in an effort to prevent customers from believing iOS devices are capable of contracting viruses and malware.

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