Apple has removed an unofficial Wikileaks app from sale in the iTunes App Store just five days after it went live.

WikiLeaks App went live on 17 December - meaning Apple will have approved it - offering access to the site's leaked documents and the latest updates from the official Wikileaks Twitter account. It automatically forwards to mirrored Wikileaks content and gives full access to CableGate information.

Developer 'Igor Barinov', or @wikileaksapp on Twitter, said the app was removed "without reasons' by Apple. He'd earlier said that half the money raised from sales of the app, which cost $1.99, would be donated to Wikileaks and claimed $1,000 had been raised by Sunday, mostly from US sales. Barinov appears to be based in Russia.

He got this standard message from Apple:



The app is still available to download from apptrackr.org though be warned - this site itself admits it 'borders on the edge of legality'. Various commenters on this TechCrunch post suggested resubmitting it as a free app, or trying out the handful of Wikileaks apps on the Android store. They include Wikileaks v1.0.0 by Michael Healy, which gives access to the documents, Wikileaks Widget by Jeff Kowalski, which gives a running total of the number of cables released on your phone's home screen, and the more comprehensive Wikileaks Secret Cables app.

The main Wikileaks.ch site is back online now and accessible in the US. But what the app provided was an interface that provided access to the content combined with a way to make a donation. Making donations has become much more convoluted since PayPal, Mastercard and Visa withdrew services. Amazon also cut off Wikileaks by terminating its hosting agreement (it would be interesting to see what else is still hosted by them?) - giving the impression that this is an orchestrated campaign rather than a series of independent business-focused decisions.

Various tweeters have said this could invite hackers to add Apple to the hit list, while more consumer-level boycotting is unlikely to make any serious dent in Apple's bottom line or its credibility. But this is all part of the momentum behind the campaign to silence Wikileaks, and ultimately to extradite Julian Assange.