Mac App Store letting users with trial, pirated copies of iWork update it for free

Even as Apple promised owners of iWork and iLife suites, as well as anyone who purchased a Mac post October 1 a free upgrade to the latest version of the apps, there seemed to be an issue. A “flaw” in the Mac App Store had been ensuring that users who held trial copies previously were being provided with the free edition of the software. However, it looks like Apple is aware of the issue and is banking on the honour system to let only genuine users download a copy.

9to5Mac has pointed out that users who had previously downloaded the 30-day iWork trial and had still kept it on their systems had managed to download the productivity suite which was free only to certain users. This was apparently caused by a “bug” in the way the Mac App Store is supposed to find copies of the software purchased through other sources.

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Apple trusts you

The Store scans if the copy of iWork was a boxed one when it was purchased. It seemed to perceive that the trial copies of the productivity suite are full versions. The iWork suite consists of productivity apps like Pages, Numbers and Keynotes while the iLife suite includes iMovie, iPhoto and GarageBand. If you held a trial copy for any of these suites, you will be able to get all the new features, including iCloud Photo sharing and iOS 7 filter support.

In response to this, Apple seems to have suspended the trial version downloads of these suites for now. MacTrast’s J Glenn Künzler said that he also managed to upgrade his copy of Aperture for free, as well as a DVD version of iLife 2009. When he reached out to Apple, the company told him that they were aware of this “bug”.

“Rather than maintain separate updates for these in addition to the Mac App Store versions of each app, Apple has decided to eliminate their legacy software update system for apps entirely. Instead, when Mavericks discovers legacy apps installed on your Mac, it provisions them as a Mac App Store purchase using your Apple ID.” The contact went on to say, “While we are aware that this enables piracy of our apps for unethical users, Apple has never taken a strong stance or action against piracy in the past. We like to believe that our users are honest, even if that belief is in vain.”

We’re not too sure if Apple placing its trust in users is going to dissuade ones with illegitimate copies downloading free tools worth dollars but it feels like a breath of fresh air to see a company trust so deeply.