As an artist, designer, and photographer, SteepShot is an appealing sister platform of Steemit for posting creative visual content. A decentralized response to social media platforms like Instagram, SteepShot has much to offer but what about for Android users?
Like most content creators in the crypto community with an Android phone, I was searching the Google Play store for ways to integrate Steemit and it's sister platforms for an easier posting strategy. Like most people in 2018 I spend a lot of time on my phone and anyways to keep consistent with my content creation is crucial to my success as a creator and curator. I was happy to see my searches come up with results I thought at the time were authentic. I was discouraged when I noticed some key red flags and wanted to hear from the community about this.
Searching for SteepShot on the Google Play store we find the app pop up with the official logo and name but with the words "(Unreleased)" in parenthesis. "Strange", I thought. Looking at the developer name, ChainArt, I became even more suspicious. With 10,000 downloads and no reviews or ratings, alarms went off in my head. I was able to write a review the only the developer could see. The developer Email was SteepShot.Org@gmail and I was instantly pushed away because everything felt wrong. I needed SteepShot and so I needed to do more research.
Visiting the official SteepShot website (steepshot.io) you quickly find buttons linking you to the App Store and the Google Play store. Although the iOS app has a different developer name, the Google Play button links directly to the app I was suspicious of. "Phishing?", I thought. Maybe, maybe not.
I clicked the "Contact Us" Navigation link on the official SteepShot website and was surprised to see the email address reroute to SteepShot.Org@gmail.com. Although a bit unprofessional (it IS decentralized), I now knew that the App on the Google Play store was indeed the official Steepshot App. Or so I still suspect...
Living in this still very new digital age, security and cyber crimes are a unknown concern for many. When first getting into crypto you are made well aware of the commonality of threats on the digital front. Crypto has made me paranoid, for lack of a better word. My research on hacking, phishing, and viruses/malware has put me on a strong defensive. So even though everything seems to check out and look alright, I wanted to reach out to the Steemit Community and see if anyone had any input or assurance about the SteepShot app on the Google Play Store.
Although there are many red flags, my research shows that they are false negatives. Is the SteepShot app on the Google Play Store legit? Why are there two different developers for the different apps (Google and iOS)? Why is the email for steepshot.org@gmail although the official site is .io? Any help and info would be appreciated.