**9to5Mac Security Bite: Warning About Misleading AI Chatbot Apps on Mac App Store**
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### The Rise and Fall of AI Apps on the App Store
Around this time two years ago, OpenAI’s popular GPT-4 API was spreading like wildfire across the App Store. AI-powered productivity apps, chatbot companions, nutritional trackers, and virtually every other imaginable AI app soared in popularity, dominating the charts and garnering millions of downloads.
However, fast forward to today, and many of those opportunistic, vibe-coded apps have vanished. The hype has cooled, and Apple has taken a tougher stance against knockoffs and misleading apps.
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### A New Threat: Misleading AI Chatbots Impersonating OpenAI
This week, security researcher Alex Kleber uncovered a misleading AI chatbot on the macOS App Store that impersonates OpenAI branding—from its logo and name to its design and functionality. Despite Apple’s efforts to remove copycat apps, this deceptive chatbot has managed to reach the top spot in the Business category—albeit in the less popular Mac App Store.
Investigation reveals that this app is made by the same developer behind another nearly identical app. Both share matching names, identical interfaces and screenshots, and the same support website, which frustratingly leads to a free Google page. Both apps are listed under the same developer account and company address located in Pakistan.
Although Apple has removed many OpenAI copycats, these two slipped through app review and now rank among the top downloads on the U.S. Mac App Store.
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### Why App Store Approval Does Not Guarantee Privacy or Safety
It’s important to understand that an app’s ranking, reviews, or even approval in the App Store do not guarantee safety regarding data privacy.
A recent report by Private Internet Access (PIA) uncovered troubling issues of transparency in many personal productivity apps. One popular AI assistant using the ChatGPT API was found quietly collecting far more user data than stated. While the app’s description claimed it only gathered messages and device IDs for functionality and account management, its privacy policy revealed it also collected names, emails, usage statistics, and broader device information. Such data often ends up sold to data brokers or exploited for nefarious purposes.
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### The Privacy Risk of GPT Clone Apps
Any GPT clone app that collects user inputs tied to real identities is a recipe for disaster. Imagine a massive database of conversations where every message is linked to the person who said it, hosted by a shell company with an AI-generated privacy policy that lacks legitimacy in its operating country. This alarming scenario is happening right now.
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### The Limitations of App Store Privacy Labels
Apple introduced privacy labels on the App Store to help users understand what data apps collect and how it’s used. However, these labels are self-reported by developers, relying entirely on their honesty. Developers can—and some do—stretch the truth, and Apple currently has no system in place to verify these claims.
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### Stay Informed and Protect Your Privacy
It’s critical to keep spreading awareness that these misleading AI apps remain on the App Store, collecting unknown quantities and types of user data from unsuspecting individuals. The privacy risks are significant.
Please stay cautious and think twice before sharing personal information with AI chatbot apps, especially those that seem suspicious or replicate popular brands.
Spread the word and help protect your community!
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*This security alert was brought to you by 9to5Mac and sponsored by Mosyle.*
https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/30/security-bite-beware-sketchy-chatgpt-clones-slipping-back-into-the-app-store-charts/
