Note
Before you install an iPhone app, check five things: who the seller is, what the privacy label says, whether each permission makes sense, what it costs, and where the link to the app came from.
Every app you install is software from someone you have probably never met. It takes about two minutes to check one first, and the habit is worth having.
The App Store is much safer than downloading apps from websites. Apps are reviewed before they appear. Each one runs in its own restricted space. It has to ask before it uses your camera or your contacts. It is digitally signed, and every listing names a seller.
It isn’t perfect, though. Scam apps and look-alike apps sometimes get through, and the privacy label on a listing is written by the developer, not verified by Apple. So here are five checks we make ourselves. None of them needs technical knowledge.
1Check
Does the seller match the company?
Under the app’s name you’ll see the name of the seller. It should be the company you expect, spelled the way the company spells it. Be careful with look-alikes: some apps copy a famous name or icon and change a letter, add a word or use a similar picture. If the seller is a name you’ve never heard of, stop and look closer. A real company usually has a website you can compare against, with the same name on it.
2Check
Read the privacy label
Every listing has a privacy section that says what data the app collects and whether it is linked to you. Read it, and remember who wrote it: the developer. It tells you what the developer says the app does, which is useful, but it isn’t a test result. Apple’s own page says the information is self-reported by the developer: About privacy information on the App Store (opens in a new tab). A long list of collected data for a simple tool is a reason to ask why. A short list is a good sign, as long as the permissions in the next check tell the same story.
3Check
Does each permission make sense?
An app asks for permissions the first time it needs them. Ask yourself whether each request fits what the app does. A flashlight doesn’t need your contacts. A calculator doesn’t need your location. You can say no, and you can change your answer later in Settings. If an app stops working properly because you refused something that makes no sense for it, that tells you something about the app.
4Check
Look at the price before you tap Get
Scroll the listing to the information about in-app purchases and subscriptions. A free app can still charge you every week or every month, sometimes after a trial. If it shows subscriptions, read the price and the length of the period first, so a charge doesn’t surprise you later. If you do subscribe and change your mind, you can cancel from your Apple Account settings on your iPhone.
5Check
Use the link from the company’s own website
Look-alike apps often turn up in links sent by text or email, and ads appear at the top of App Store search results, so check the seller name there too. Go to the company’s own website, typed in yourself, and follow its link to the App Store. That way you know the listing you open is the one the company means. If a message tells you to install something urgently, treat that as a warning in itself. Related guides: why a code in an app beats a code by text message, and how to lock or hide any app on your iPhone.
Our turn
How MELKEM Authenticator measures up
It’s fair to hold us to the same checks:
- The seller is MELKEM INC.
- The privacy label is Data Not Collected.
- The app makes no network connections.
- It asks for only two permissions: the camera, to scan a QR code, and Face ID, to unlock the app.
- It’s free, with no subscription, no in-app purchases and no ads.
Find it on the App Store (opens in a new tab), or read its privacy policy.
