INDEPENDENT SECURITY RESEARCHER

Alex Kleber.

Privacy first. Accountability through research.

I investigate deceptive applications and privacy risks in the Apple ecosystem. My work follows the details behind an app: its identity, its claims, and the people publishing it.

Browse investigations Follow @privacyis1st ↗

ABOUT MY WORK

Making app behavior
easier to scrutinize.

I’m known online as Privacy 1st or Alex Kleber. My research examines applications that raise questions about privacy, branding, subscriptions and the accuracy of their store listings.

App Scam DB brings these investigations into a single, searchable library. Each report connects its findings to source material: screenshots, historical listings, developer records and documented changes.

My work has been covered by BetaNews, Intego, 9to5Mac and The Mac Observer.

Research areas

Explore the report library →

App identity & branding

Names, icons, publisher identities and claims of affiliation.

Privacy & user trust

What applications disclose, what they promise and what the evidence shows.

Subscriptions & listings

Pricing, presentation and changes across versions and storefronts.

SELECTED COVERAGE

Research in the news

External publications

The Mac Observer20 Apr 2026Fake Developers Are Running a ChatGPT Scam on the Mac App Store 9to5Mac30 Oct 2025Security Bite: Beware sketchy ChatGPT-clones slipping back into App Store charts Intego 2023Scam applications and misleading App Store listings The Mac Observer5 Aug 2022Fraudulent Chinese Apps Elude Apple’s Strict Mac App Store Review Process 9to5Mac4 Aug 2022Researcher reports fraudulent Chinese apps on the Mac App Store BetaNews 2018Adware Doctor caught collecting users’ browsing histories

CONTACT

Share a lead. Start a conversation.

For app reports, research enquiries and press.

[email protected]