The New York Times has revealed in a bombshell report that ToTok, a popular new messaging app, is actually a tool for the United Arab Emirates government to spy on users.

After being alerted by The Times, both Google and Apple kicked the app off their app stores.

Google said ToTok had violated its policies, while Apple said it was investigating the app.

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Google and Apple have booted a popular messaging app off their app storefronts after a New York Times report revealed it was suspected of being a spying tool deployed by the government of the United Arab Emirates.

The app is called ToTok, and it has been the subject of both a New York Times investigation and a classified intelligence assessment by US officials. The Times‘ own technical analysis suggested the app was used for mass surveillance.

According to The Times, ToTok is only a few months old but in that time garnered millions of downloads across Google Play and Apple’s App Store. Last week ToTok flew up the app leaderboards in the US and became one of the most downloaded messaging apps, according to the analytics site App Annie.

Most of the users were in the UAE, where services like Skype and WhatsApp are prohibited. ToTok was also given a boost by the Chinese smartphone giant Huawei, which endorsed the app.

But the app is, according to The Times, used to monitor conversations, movements, and even relationships of those who use it.

The Times found ToTok had close ties to DarkMatter, an Abu Dhabi-based hacking company that The Times said was under investigation by the FBI.

After The Times contacted Google and Apple, both companies removed the app from their stores. Google said ToTok had violated its policies but was unclear on details. Apple said it was still looking into the app.

„We take reports of security and privacy violations seriously,“ a Google spokeswoman told Business Insider. „If we find behavior that violates our policies, we take action.“ Apple was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Business Insider.

You can read the full New York Times report here.