Apps up to no good

The explosion in smartphone and tablet applications that allow people to check the weather, follow their stocks and play "Words With Friends" has a dark side — apps that facilitate questionable if not outright illegal behavior.

Apple's App Store, for example, offers "Drivers License" software that promises "unlimited access to realistic-looking licenses" for all 50 states. Though the phony licenses are advertised as entertainment, it's not hard to imagine a minor using one to try to get into a bar or a crook trying to pass a bad check.

Members of Congress have pressured companies to remove certain apps, with mixed results. Banning apps isn't a viable option, according to legal experts, who say apps enjoy the same kinds of First Amendment protections as books, movies and music.

That means, in effect, that there are no restrictions on apps beyond the self-policing that companies such as Apple and Google do to keep dubious products off their sites.

Even if Apple or Google ban certain apps, they are readily available on underground or alternative sites. Among the products now available:

• The Secret SMS Replicator app, available in several third-party online stores for Android apps, allows people to have text messages from someone else's phone forwarded to them automatically, and without them knowing it.

The company markets the app to parents who want to keep tabs on their young children. Adults can also use the software to ensure that a family member or friend receives a copy of their text messages — that's legal, as long as the person whose messages are shared gives permission.

But the software could also be surreptitiously installed on someone's phone — that of a boss, business rival or significant other — without that person's knowledge, as long as the installer can get access to the phone for a few minutes. ("Grab your boyfriend's phone while he is in the shower," app developer DLP Mobile recommends on its website.) Doing so without permission amounts to illegal wiretapping, according to experts.

• The Police Light app mimics a squealing police siren. News reports from around the country indicate that at least three people have used it or similar apps to trick drivers into pulling over. Like the others, this app by itself is not illegal — but someone using it on the highway could get in trouble for impersonating a police officer, which can be a felony.

Among the most controversial apps are the ones that warn drivers about drunken-driving checkpoints.