Open source and data credits

Stalkerware indicators

Stalkerware indicators by Echap, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Spyware and harmful-app indicators from MVT (MIT) and ESET (BSD 2-Clause). Credits.

Applore’s check for known stalkerware uses indicators from the stalkerware-indicators repository, maintained for Echap, a non-profit organisation. The repository lists package names and signing certificates of known stalkerware, and a separate list of monitoring apps (watchware), such as parental control and employee tracking apps.

How Applore uses it:

• Its entries are part of Applore’s threat list. A person reviews each update and publishes it by hand, and Applore checks for a new signed list about once a day. A copy also comes with the app.
• Applore compares the apps installed on your phone with the list on the phone. Your list of apps is not sent anywhere for this check.
• Store-installed monitoring apps are labelled monitoring apps, not spyware.

The repository itself warns that its indicators are not a complete detection of stalkerware and that many apps are likely missing. That is one reason Applore also looks for warning signs, and why it states its limits. See how detection works.

Spyware and harmful-app indicators

Applore’s threat list also uses two other public sources:

• Mobile Verification Toolkit (MVT) indicators, published under the MIT licence. They list commercial spyware apps documented by researchers; some collections credit organisations such as Amnesty International and Citizen Lab.
• ESET malware indicators, published under the BSD 2-Clause licence. Applore uses the file fingerprints from ESET’s Android reports.

Applore matches known harmful apps only by signing certificate or exact file, never by name alone. Neither source claims to be complete. The licence notices for both sources are included in the app.

Hotline sources

The support contacts in Applore for India, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries each come from an official source, such as a government, police or helpline website. Every entry shows its source and the date it was last checked. The full list, with links, is on get help: hotlines.

Open-source libraries

Applore is built with open-source software libraries. A complete list of those libraries and their licences, taken from the app’s build, will be published on this page. Until then, email info@applore.io if you need licence information for a specific component.

Website

Credits for the photos and illustrations used on this website are on the image credits page.