A new iPhone app called iTether allowed users to tether their phone's Internet connection to a PC or Mac without being charged a monthly subscription fee. The app has already bee pulled by Apple in less than a day, contrary to what the developer led us to believe.
iTether sold for $14.99 which may sound like a lot for a single app, but considering how expensive carrier tethering plans are, it certainly seems like a bargain. Once purchased and installed on your phone, users would also need to download the accompanying PC or Mac tethering software, available from Tether.com.
US carriers forbid users to tether their iPhone unless they subscribe to a pricey tethering plan. AT&T has even been known to downgrade unlimited data accounts that they suspect are using tethering via jailbreaks and automatically upgrading users to tethering plans.
A tweet from Tether.com points out that the company was very clear with Apple about what their app did. It says they asked a bunch of questions and then approved the app. Apple has since pulled the app about an hour ago despite initially approving it for sale in their store.
Tether.com has responded with an official statement saying that Apple called them around 12pm EST and said they were pulling the app because it burdens the carrier network. Users who purchased the app before it was pulled will still be able to use iTether, although we are unsure if there will be any repercussions from carriers for doing so.