On social network X, the Rubik account revealed: "I learned how to download the official version of paid apps for Mac for free without paying hundreds of dollars. I went to the Apple Store with my Mac and transferred the app files from the display machine via AirDrop."

Not only Rubik, David Jiang also said: "Today, I went to the 5th Avenue Apple Store and 'airdropped' all the Apple Pro Apps. Basically, I stole $600 worth of software from the Apple Store".

On Reddit, many people also said they had successfully "stolen" copyrighted software without being stopped by Apple. Some said that employees saw what they were doing but said nothing or turned a blind eye.

"I tried using my iPhone to grab all my Final Cut, Logic Pro, Compressors, and Motion files and transfer them to my Mac at home. It all worked. But don't update the software," Reddit user mMacOS wrote.

According to Zinc, a software developer on Reddit, Apple apps are stored in the .app repository. In most cases, all the relevant files and libraries are stored in this repository. Simply transferring that .app file from one computer to another will “install” the app on the new computer.

Some say that this type of software theft should not be supported and that Apple will soon find a way to stop it. However, the US company has not taken any action despite threads with this content appearing on Reddit for the past 5 months.

According to iMore , the trick of stealing copyrighted software files at the Apple Store has actually been recorded since 2017, but Apple has not intervened. The .app file also has no verification process, is not linked to Apple ID, so it can only be detected through updates.