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Cryptocurrency Mining Banned On Apple's IOS Devices


Apple's newly released App Store guidelines has a ban on cryptocurrency mining on both iOS devices including iPhones and iPads, and Mac.

The company said apps should not rapidly drain battery, generate excessive heat, or put unnecessary strain on device resources. All these are characteristics of cryprocurrency mining.

Cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, are created by solving complex mathematical problems in a process known as mining. The mining requires highly powerful computers and consumes enormous electricity, and creates excess energy. The miners generally utilize large networks of devices, including iPhones and iPads.

Under the Hardware Compatibility section of its new App Store guidelines, Apple said, "Apps, including any third party advertisements displayed within them, may not run unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining."

Apps may not mine for cryptocurrencies unless the processing is performed off device, e.g. cloud-based mining, it said.

According to bitcoin mining company Coinmint, the mining process on a computer generates 1,400 watts. Crypto mining, which requires significantly increased workload, can overload smartphones' CPUs, eating up battery, causing the device to run slowly, and warm.

The significant growth in demand for cryptocurrencies with its skyrocketing value has prompted hackers around the world to steal computer power to mine coins.

In January, Opera, a web browser for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, added cryptocurrency mining protection to its mobile browsers as well as desktop-based versions. Users can prevent malicious scripts from hijacking a device's resources to mine cryptocurrency while browsing.

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