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Apple Seems OK With Currency Miners In the Mac App Store

Posted by BeauHD on from the resource-draining dept.

Apple has yet to block a popular title in the Mac App Store that has openly embraced coin mining, prompting one to ask the question: does Apple allow apps in the Mac App Store if they clearly disclose that they will be mining cryptocurrency? Ars Technica reports: The app is Calendar 2, a scheduling app that aims to include more features than the Calendar app that Apple bundles with macOS. In recent days, Calendar 2 developer Qbix endowed it with code that mines the digital coin known as Monero. The xmr-stack miner isn't supposed to run unless users specifically approve it in a dialog that says the mining will be in exchange for turning on a set of premium features. If users approve the arrangement, the miner will then run. Users can bypass this default action by selecting an option to keep the premium features turned off or to pay a fee to turn on the premium features. If Calendar 2 isn't the first known app offered in Apple's official and highly exclusive App Store to do currency mining, it's one of the very few.

6 of 38 comments (clear)

  1. How does Apple get their cut? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Apple wants a cut of money made with apps distributed in their store. Are they taking a cut of the Monero mined by this app?

  2. So where's the 30% Apple cut (tax) by Sebby · · Score: 2

    Apple is adamant on making sure it gets paid 30% for anything that is 'paid' on the app store - either direct purchase of an app, or of its in-app purchases or subscriptions.

    Given this, I don't see this type of arrangement lasting.

    --

    AC comments get piped to /dev/null
  3. Lockout chip since 1985 by tepples · · Score: 2

    When a computer maker and OS brand starts to set limits on what a CPU and GPU can be used for after buying a computer?

    That ship sailed in 1985 with the lockout chips in the Nintendo Entertainment System and Atari 7800 ProSystem.

  4. A replacement for ads by Tyrannosaur · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That asks the user first. I am 100% ok with that. Bonus points if I can tell it to run only when my phone is plugged in to charge.

    We need replacements for intrusive and dangerous ads, and cryptocurrency mining is a good initial drop-in replacement. I hope other ad replacements happen as well.

    1. Re:A replacement for ads by vux984 · · Score: 4, Informative

      "That asks the user first. I am 100% ok with that. Bonus points if I can tell it to run only when my phone is plugged in to charge."

      Your phone isn't going to charge very vast if the CPU is pinned at 100%. It's also going to be running super hot.

      "I hope other ad replacements happen as well."

      Their are already 2 great options:
      1) Free Open Source options (f-droid!!) Not really an option on iOS... which is the main reason i don't use iOS.

      2) "paying for the app"; with or without free-trial / limited shareware version. I'm pretty happy with this as well.

      Sadly with too many apps that's not an option, they'd rather leech off me in some way. Whether its ads or mining crypto currency or harvesting data... or all three.

    2. Re:A replacement for ads by vux984 · · Score: 2

      "Bonus points if I can tell it to run only when my phone is plugged in to charge."

      And what happens when you have 2 apps, or 4 apps, or 12 apps or 20 apps that use this model? They still going to be happy with 1/20th ?

      I mean, i guess if you are going to embrace this nonsense, you might as well go all in right? And install a miner that mines currency for yourself, and set that one to have priority over all the other ones. Your other 20 apps can divide 1% of the cpu between them... if nothing else it'd be a good way to kill this business model off.