Image: John Karakatsanis/Flickr
Apple said on Monday that it had removed "a group" of apps from the App Store that violated the company's guidelines regarding user privacy. The apps all used third-party advertising technology from a Chinese company called Youmi, technology that Apple says secretly accessed users' private information like email addresses and device identification number.According to SourceDNA, the app analytics company that first discovered the issue, as many as 256 apps are believed to have used the advertising technology. "Most" of these apps were created by Chinese developers, according to a SourceDNA statement.This news may sound familiar to you. Apple in September similar removed nearly 40 apps from its Chinese App Store after it was discovered that they were infected with malware, the largest malware infection on the App Store to date. This latest incident involving Youmi's advertising technology further shines a light on the difficulty Apple may have in effectively monitoring the millions of apps submitted to the App Store.In a statement, Apple said that it was "working closely" with the developers of the unnamed apps to remove Youmi's advertising technology, and thus be allowed back on the App Store. Any new apps submitted to the App Store that use this technology will immediately be rejected, Apple added.