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A data harvesting app is called Free Money it seems to have fooled users as it quickly rose to the top of the charts on the App Store and Google Play, where it lasted a few months until the recent ban.
If you’ve been on TikTok this year, you’ve come across Freecash ads. The app is sold out as a way to make money just by going TikTok – it has jumped to the top of the app in recent months, aiming for the No. 2 in the US App Store.
Indeed, Freecash pays users to play mobile games – all the while collecting confidential information, according to cybersecurity company Malwarebytes.
Malwarebytes report documents that the program can collect information about the type of users, religion, sex life, sexual attitudes, health, and other biometrics, adding that the program is actually a data broker looking to match game developers with users who are ready to install and spend money on mobile games. Recommended games on Freecash include Monopoly Go and Disney Solitaire, among others.
In response to the January report from Wired that found Freecash used deceptive advertising methods and forced users to spend money on games, TikTok pulled Freecash’s ads, saying the company violated its rules by falsifying money. At the time, Freecash refused to participate, saying that the transaction was made by other organizations, not itself.
On Monday, when contacted by TechCrunch for comment, Apple pulled Freecash from its App Store. As of Monday afternoon, the app was still listed in the Google Play Store.
When reached for comment, Almedia, the German company that owns Freecash, denied claims of driving artificial vehicles on its platform or using fraudulent marketing practices.
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“Our apps are fully compatible with the Apple App Store and Google Play Store standards, as shown by the fact that they are live and regularly reviewed,” an email from Almedia PR manager James Law, signed “Almedia Press Office,” said. “We have no comment on the internal content of the software listings.”
The question remains how an app like Freecash was able to play social media ads and other partnerships to rise to the top of the app store. Downloads of the app increased in January 2026 to 5.5 million in stores worldwide, from 876,000 in October 2025, according to the data from a market intelligence firm App icons.
This development sent the app to the 2nd place on the US App Store. Thanks to its organic presence and other marketing efforts, it continued to be in the top 5 almost every day since January 8. On Google Play, it reached the 7th place, Appfigures said.
Appfigures told TechCrunch that Freecash downloads peaked in February, reaching around 6 million, but have since declined. Current estimates put the program right at about 3 million installs in April.
However, the Freecash game goes beyond TikToks misleading, potentially fake, questionable good Google backlinksand visible using bots to drive traffic to the app.
Possible bait-and-switch
Before Freecash made it to the top of the Apple and Google app stores, it was created under two different developer accounts.
Third-party data from a market intelligence provider App icons it shows that Almedia GmbHthe German company behind the Freecash app, was posted for the first time Free Money to the Apple App Store on March 24, 2024, but was removed two months later on June 13, 2024.Appmagic he sees his removal on June 12 – see below.)
The app was downloaded about 69.5K times before it was removed, Appfigures said.
A few months later, a second program was already available on the store, made by a Cyprus company Company opinion 256 Rewards Ltdchanged to “Free Money,” and updates were posted under the app’s ID, according to third-party data.
It is unclear whether Almedia found a Cypriot producer, which he was in the beginning to be invited Awardor if it just got an advertising account. Rewards no longer seem to have a to work website or visitors to existand the team behind the company since he moved to a new company, Being pushed. (The Prize co-founders did not respond to a request for comment about their previous company sent through their new company’s email address.)
Almedia’s re-entry into the App Store through another developer account was probably a way to avoid banning the original Freecash app. Using another developer to re-enter the App Store after a ban is a common, even illegal, method. (A spokeswoman for Almedia declined to comment on the earlier cancellation of her show.)
Washington Post report about the fraudulent app reported this, highlighting a number of fraudulent apps that can disappear from the App Store and then reappear in another account. Some independent ones search it is written this way as well as, and more often than not, malicious software owners use history of the account, it is said.
It is not known whether Almedia used similar methods in approving its Freecash program, but what is known is that the Rewards program was changed to Freecash only five months ago, before it quickly passed the top of the Apple and Google stores. A spokesperson for the company did not say whether its original apps were banned for policy violations.
Apple App Store instructions ban apps that try to cheat its App Review system by doing things like circumventing restrictions.
After TechCrunch reached out to Apple for comment, the company removed Freecash from the App Store for violating its policy on Monday, citing misleading advertising. Apple pointed TechCrunch to two App Store Review Tips.
In addition, Apple’s Developer Program License Agreement it also states that software developers may not engage in illegal, unfair, misleading, fraudulent, improper, or fraudulent activities or business practices in connection with their software. This includes engaging in bait-and-switch pricing, misleading consumers, deceptive business practices, or unfair competition against other manufacturers, Apple said.
Almedia may have done the same on the Google Play Store. The company a basic program (app ID com.freecash.twa – see above) was removed in January 2024, according to Appfigures. The current Freecash program is listed under a separate program ID (com.freecash.app2). Google says it’s looking into the matter.
As of Friday, April 10, Freecash was number 7 on the US App Store and No. 13 on Google Play.
Despite reports of deceptive advertising practices, Freecash had the highest reviews of 4.7 stars. It’s not unusual or very difficult for brands to fake online reviews, but it’s possible that high reviews mean they haven’t been flagged by Apple for removal.
In a statement, Apple told TechCrunch that users should report on apps they trust to commit fraud or fraud through reportaproblem.apple.com website.