In the past few weeks, developer Kosta Eleftheriou has highlighted many scam apps on the App Store. The formula for each scam app is virtually identical and focuses on fake ratings and ratings combined with a misleading weekly subscription.
Updated February 11, 2021: Apple gave the following statement to The Verge regarding fraudulent apps on the App Store.
We take comments about fraudulent activity seriously, investigate and take action on each report. The App Store was designed to be a safe and reliable place for users to obtain applications and a great opportunity for developers to succeed. We do not tolerate fraudulent activity on the App Store and we have strict rules against apps and developers who try to trick the system. In 2020 alone, we closed more than half a million developer accounts for fraud and removed more than 60 million user reviews that were considered spam. As part of our ongoing efforts to maintain the integrity of our platform, our Discovery Fraud team actively works to remove these types of breaches and is constantly improving its process along the way.
Eleftheriou is the developer behind FlickType, a popular Apple Watch keyboard app that brings gesture typing to the wearable device. He was also one of the creators of the Flesky keyboard app, acquired by Pinterest, and the Blind Type, acquired by Google.
THE discussion started two weeks ago, when Eleftheriou began to highlight applications that were essentially non-functional copies of FlickType. One of the most striking was the KeyWatch:
Just a few months ago, I was manner ahead of my competition. When they found out how difficult the self-correcting algorithms were, I was already launching the theft version of my keyboard, quickly approaching the typing speed of the iPhone. So, how did they beat me?
First, they made an app that seemed to fulfill the promise of a watch keyboard – but it was virtually unusable. Then, they started advertising heavily on FB and Instagram, using my own promotional video, from my own app, with my real name on it.
When users downloaded the app, the first screen was a blank interface with a “Unlock now” button. Touch the “Unlock now” button and the Apple purchase screen will appear to confirm a $ 8 / week subscription for an application that was not functional.
What about App Store ratings and ratings? The KeyWatch developers simply purchased fake reviews and reviews, which flooded the App Store listings and gave users the impression that the app was a legitimate Apple Watch keyboard. According to data from Appfigures, KeyWatch was generating $ 2 million a year through its App Store scheme.
False evaluations and false reviews. This quickly takes the scams to the top of search results, leaving honest developers and workers hard at work. An age-old problem that is not easy to solve, but that’s why app discovery on the App Store is so problematic.
After the Eleftheriou topic on Twitter gained momentum, Apple removed the KeyWatch and a handful of other fraudulent Apple Watch keyboard apps from the App Store. That said, the company did not act so quickly against similar applications from the same “developer”.
But since then, Eleftheriou has exposed additional fraudulent apps on the App Store. Over the weekend, he posted a simple topic showing “how to spot a $ 5 million / year scam on the App Store in just 5 minutes”. This time, he introduced Star Gazer +, which is still available on the App Store with a rating of 4.4 and over 80,000 ratings.
The situation is almost the same as in the original KeyWatch example. The “developer” launches an application that barely works with a weekly subscription requirement. The App Store list is awash with fake reviews and analysis, leading users to think it’s a legitimate service.
Potential solutions
Developer Marco Arment joined the conversation on Twitter, suggesting that a solution to eliminate these scams would be for Apple to completely eliminate the option of charging a weekly subscription. This proved to be a common tactic used by many of the scammers highlighted by Eleftheriou’s tweets.
Other developers also joined the conversation suggesting possible solutions. For example, David Barnard retweeted a concept he shared for the first time in 2019 about how Apple could redesign the App Store’s “purchase spreadsheet” to make payment terms clearer for users.
Eleftheriou also points out that some of Apple’s marketing materials for the App Store give users the impression that they shouldn’t be concerned about fraudulent apps.
He also described how to contact Apple directly to talk about these issues when talking to TechCrunch:
“They put you in touch with the other developer in question and oversee the topic while waiting for you to resolve the issue directly with the other party,” he explains. “The scammers I complained about in that dispute were not even the biggest scammers I mentioned in my Twitter topic. Still, the complaint I had with them was barely handled and there was no response from Apple on the issue of ratings and false reviews. Simply a ‘if we don’t have an answer from you very soon, we will consider the matter resolved’. We even contacted Apple privately after that, but got no response. “
Theoretically, the App Store Review should be able to filter some of these apps, but Apple should also make a better effort to eliminate false reviews and analyzes. A quick Google search reveals how advanced this industry is, making Apple’s silence even more deafening.
What do you think of the issues highlighted by Eleftheriou? Have you ever encountered a fraudulent application on the App Store? Let us know in the comments.
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