Sophie Blake
Apple’s TestFlight archives spanning from 2012 to 2015 have been laid bare, revealing the beta files of thousands of iOS apps and mobile games, as reported by Eurogamer.
Aptly named the “teraleak” due to its massive scale of 1.2TB cache, this data breach not only includes early versions of games that later saw full releases but also unearths legacy titles that have long vanished from the App Store. The leak originated from the Wayback Machine, an internet archive that managed to access server files of ancient titles.
@TeraLeak, a user on X, discovered archived TestFlight data on Apple’s servers using the Wayback Machine. This user shared the findings anonymously on X and various other social media platforms. The post includes multiple archive links that allow users to explore information about iOS apps from the period between 2012 and 2015. However, the method through which this data was extracted from Apple’s servers remains unclear as of the current publication.
FULL TESTFLIGHT CDN ARCHIVES:
— TestFlight Leak Information (@teraleak) December 18, 2023
1. https://t.co/FPsmOLh42U
2. https://t.co/RMgd4hqCNe
3. https://t.co/KU0xdRoOh9
You can find just about any iOS app beta/prototype from roughly 2012-2015 in this archive, but YOU HAVE TO SEARCH FOR IT. pic.twitter.com/Vt7akxE9QB
TestFlight, Apple’s online service facilitating beta testing for developers, streamlines the process of launching apps for testing purposes. It enables developers to invite users to beta builds, collect valuable feedback, and refine their apps or games before an official release.
Prior to its acquisition by Apple in early 2014, TestFlight provided a platform for developers to test apps on both iOS and Android. The archived data indicates that Apple closed down the original TestFlightApp.com website in February 2015. The cache of this website was subsequently uploaded to the Internet Archive by the Archive Team in March 2015. Remarkably, this data has largely remained unnoticed until now.
Although TestFlight has a 90-day window for active builds, the teraleak has uncovered data for games dating back over a decade, presenting thousands of apps and games in their prototype forms as IPA files.
While TestFlight primarily serves as a platform for external beta testing, it also accommodates up to 100 internal staff members to test their studio’s games during the iterative process. This raises the possibility that certain games may have been leaked without ever reaching external beta testers. Additionally, considering the IPA files of games that have concluded service and been delisted from the Apple App Store, earlier builds may now be playable again through sideloading.
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