An app that claimed to support a charity rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean by enabling users to search satellite data has been pulled from Apple’s app store, after technology experts said it did not work.
The app, I Sea, was launched early last week and claimed that users were able to search sections of the Mediterranean Sea for migrant boats and that when they flagged something suspicious the charity Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) would be alerted and able to send a rescue boat.
It received positive coverage across the media, including in Reuters, the Evening Standard and technology publication, Wired. But technology experts have said that the app is a fake and said that users are not in fact scanning the sea for migrants.
MOAS has now discontinued its relationship with the advertising company Grey for Good.
Matt Burke, a developer, has written a summary of the evidence against the app on his blog, explaining that the image seen by users appeared to be the same static image shown to everyone. He concluded that: “It just seems it’s not actually hooked up to anything.”
Technology experts said that the image data was taken from Google maps, meaning that it was out of date, and that the weather report included in the app was actually from a weather station in Libya.
The app was removed from Apple’s app store on Monday afternoon.
Grey for Good, the advertising agency behind the app, posted a statement on Sunday 19 June claiming that the app was in “testing mode”.
“At this time it is loading and mapping satellite images to its GPS coordinates and users are able to report an anomaly in their plot of sea. The report function is sending out an alert whenever a user flags something in the plot of sea they are watching.
“During this testing period, the satellite images available are not in real-time. Grey for Good are still working to optimise the technology, but we are proud of what we have achieved so far and are grateful to all those who have shown interest in helping to improve the app further.”
Charity 'dismayed'
In a statement MOAS said: "MOAS is a charity dedicated to saving lives at sea, it does not develop apps. While we provided information on the reality of operating at sea to Grey for Good, we did not develop the I Sea app. We support the idea of testing new technologies and innovations that aim to save lives at sea."
It added: "Grey for Good is a well-intentioned pro bono arm of a globally known ad agency. When they approached MOAS with the idea of an app that could crowdsource the ability to identify vessels in distress we provided input based on their real world experience. Among that advice was the need for real time input to save lives"
The charity said it was "dismayed to discover that real time images were not being used".
Our mission remains that of carrying out professional search-and-rescue efforts along the world’s most dangerous border crossing – the sea. We will continue to work closely with supporters and continue to be open to new ideas that can save lives. We would like to thank all those who have expressed their support and continue to believe in our work.
Editors note: This story has been updated to inlcude a statement from MOAS
