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Popular InstaAgent app scammed users for passwords

By Tomas Monzon

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- InstaAgent, an Android and iOS app that lets users see who has viewed their profile, was removed from app stores after it was found to be stealing passwords.

Self-employed German developer David Layer-Reiss initially found the security flaw and posted an image of his find to Twitter on Tuesday. Layer-Reiss said usernames and passwords were sent to unknown servers and that the app posted ads to their Instagram accounts without permission.

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Released last month, the app became popular in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Canada.

It hit the top of the U.K.'s free apps chart on Nov. 7 and remained there for four days. Additionally, the Android version was downloaded more than 100,000 times from the Google Play app store despite a 2.2 star rating. Its iOS version showed a four-star rating on the app store.

In another tweet, Layer-Reiss said, "I would say 'Who Viewed Your Profile - InstaAgent' is the first malware in the iOS Appstore that is downloaded half a million times."

The app was absent from both app stores by Wednesday morning.

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This is the second time in recent months that Apple's App Store, typically regarded as having a rigorous vetting process for new apps, has experienced such an issue. In September, hundreds of apps on the App Store were found to be infected with malicious development code.

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