Bitdefender’s Clueful app, a privacy awareness tool for iPhone users, has been removed from Apple’s App Store. It had been approved and made available for sale before Apple informed Bitdefender of the decision to remove it for “reasons the company is studying”.

The app, which was launched in May, informs users which apps on their iPhone are accessing more information than needed  to function.

Bitdefender is working to raise awareness around iOS app privacy and said it will develop Clueful in order to resubmit it to the App Store. Users who have already purchased and downloaded the app will be able to continue using it, according to the company.

In a recent survey of more than 65,000 iOS apps, Bitdefender found that 19 percent can access users’ address books, with some sending this information elsewhere without notifying the user. In addition, 41 percent of apps were found to track the location of users without their knowledge and 43 percent did not encrypt personal data even when connected to public Wi-Fi.

"While most app developers use this information for legitimate purposes, others might not. Clueful was the best way for iPhone owners to know what data apps are actually accessing," said Bitdefender chief security researcher Catalin Cosoi.