While Twitter’s Instagram-inspired competitor Threads hasn’t even officially launched in Europe yet, clone apps are already popping up in the App Store. Their goal ? Empty users’ wallets.
Threads, Twitter’s Meta competitor, is off to a flying start and is clearly positioning itself as a serious threat to Elon Musk. Only five days after its launch, the social network crossed the 100 million user mark on Monday July 10, according to statistics from Quiver Quantitative. And yet, the application has not even been officially launched on European territory, given that it does not comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at all – it is however possible to download Threads thanks to a little scheme, but it’s at your own risk (see our practical guide). Admittedly, the social network is still a long way from Twitter’s 350 million users, but it can count on the influence of Meta and its intertwining with Instagram, which has more than 2 billion active users, to continue on its launched. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before some were looking to exploit this success for malicious purposes, including creating clone apps to steal users’ money.
Fake Threads app: A clone that’s after your wallet
As noticed BFM TV, an application called “Threads for Insta” is currently number 5 in the ranking of free applications, and even number 1 in the “Social networks” category on the French App Store – even though the real Threads is not there. ! Of course, it is not developed by Meta, but by a company called SocialKit LTD which, strangely, is also behind a fake ChatGPT application… The logo is misleading since it does not is not the official one, which depicts a stylized white at sign on a black background. The developers decided to replace the latter with Instagram’s pink background.
According to the screenshots on the App Store, the interface is different from that of Meta, as are the different functions presented. Indeed, Threads for Insta claims to use artificial intelligence to generate posts – the famous threads – a function that the official application does not offer but which remains credible, the trend of AI having also contaminated social networks , like Snapchat with My AI and TikTok with its future Tako.
Fake Threads app: bills of up to 90 euros
Unlike the real social network, this version of Threads is not free. It is fleeceware, a type of malicious mobile application that involves hidden and often abusive subscription fees. Indeed, the user simply has the right to a trial period, after which he will have to take out his wallet. “The free trial period automatically converts to a paid subscription unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the trial period”, indicates the application description. Suffice to say that we can easily miss this “detail”. The user has the choice between a weekly subscription at 2.99 euros per week, a monthly subscription at 29.99 euros per month and an annual one at 89.99 euros per year – it’s not cheap!
Yet even though some App Store reviews report the scam, with some claiming to have paid for a year’s subscription before they figured out the scam, the app boasts a 4.6 out of 5 rating – which puts the future victim in confidence at the time of downloading. Worryingly, however, Threads for Insta has gone through Apple’s review process multiple times to get on the App Store. At no time has its usurpation, its subscriptions or its uselessness posed a problem for Apple – yet renowned for its intransigence – which seriously raises the question of the validation of applications at Apple. Especially since it’s not the first time. Morality: it is not because one downloads via an official store that there is no danger!