‘Dodgy’ Chinese app offering stolen Netflix, HBO access could be harvesting your information

A new app being promoted on TikTok looks legit but acts like an illegal movie catalogue, and could be stealing your personal data.

A CHINESE app disguised as a dice game is actually delivering stolen access to new-release films and TV shows using a code promoted on TikTok.

But experts fear it could also be stealing huge troves of users’ data after thousands of smartphone users gave the app access to their payment information, contacts, app use, and identity details.

The app, called Doxcy, launched in Google’s Play Store last month and on Apple’s App Store on July 15.

Despite its appearance as a simple dice game with a poorly translated description, it’s attracted more than 100,000 downloads in Google’s store and more than 1400 reviews.

Many of the reviews applaud the app for letting users “easily watch movies that haven’t reached the movie theatre yet”.

The app’s true nature is revealed when users type in a numeric code into its search bar — a code that is currently being promoted in TikTok videos.

Illegal content within the app appears to include movies from Netflix, HBO Max and Amazon Prime such as Black Widow, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and The Tomorrow War.

Swinburne University media senior lecturer Dr Belinda Barnet outed the app on social media, warning parents and caregivers to closely monitor what children install on their devices and “remove dodgy stuff”.

“It’s obviously providing a sneaky way to get around paying for HBO/Netflix but the real question is, has it been using data or mining Bitcoin or some other process too?” she said.

The Google Android version of the app collects lots of information about its users, including their contacts, access to other accounts on their phone, and details of the apps they use.

But the developer, Zivsy, also charges its users to remove advertisements — a promise it doesn’t always fulfil, according to reviews — and requires users share access to its content with contacts multiple times.

Apple removed Doxcy from its App Store overnight following reports about its duplicity, but Google has yet to take action against it.

Originally published as ‘Dodgy’ Chinese app offering stolen Netflix, HBO access could be harvesting your information