iOS dictionary app accuses customers of piracy via Twitter - Update

In a blog posting, author Jenn Frank reports that the Oxford Deluxe (ODE & OTE) - powered by UniDict iPhone/iPad app, which retails for £37.99 (or €49.99), accuses legitimate buyers of being software pirates. Apparently, the app's flawed DRM feature automatically tweets "How about we all stop using pirated iOS apps? I promise to stop. I really will" to the dictionary user's Twitter followers. Frank says that the message "I am a software thief!" is pushed to the iPhone's lock screen at the same time.

Although the developers, Enfour, had already released an emergency patch for the app and apologised to users in an open letter in early November, hundreds of tweets with the #softwarepirateconfession hash tag remain in circulation. Whether the affected users just haven't installed the 340MB update, they are using a pirated copy, or the DRM feature is still wreaking havoc despite the update is currently unclear.

Jenn Frank continues to explain that the dictionary app requests Twitter access during installation. However, according to the author, the developers never mention that the app will auto-tweet on the user's behalf. According to a report from Pocketables, Twitter access is a mandatory requirement, and the application won't be fully installed without it.

Update - An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the dictionary application. The article now points to the Enfour-developed Oxford Deluxe dictionary application. The H regrets the error.

(Uli Ries / fab)