Over the past few weeks, developer Kosta Eleftheriou has highlighted many apparent fraudulent applications in the App Store. The formula for each scam application is virtually identical, and it focuses on fake reviews and ratings, coupled with a misleading weekly subscription.
Eleftheriou is the developer behind FlickType, a popular Apple Watch keyboard application that types gestures to the portable device. He was also one of the creators of the Flesky keyboard app, acquired by Pinterest, and Blind Type, acquired by Google.
The thread started two weeks ago, when Eleftheriou began highlighting applications that were essentially non-functional ripoffs of FlickType. One of the most blatant was KeyWatch:
Just a few months ago I was manner before my competition. When they realized how difficult auto-correction algorithms were, I was working on the scratch version of my keyboard, which is fast approaching the typing speed of the iPhone. So, how did they hit me?
First, they created an app that apparently lived up to the promise of a watch keyboard, but was virtually unusable. Then they started advertising heavily on FB & Instagram, with my own promo video, from my own app, with my real name on it.
When users downloaded the app, the first screen was an empty interface with the “Unlock Now” button. Tap the “Unlock Now” button and Apple’s purchase screen will prompt you to confirm a $ 8 / week subscription for a non-functioning app.
What about the App Store reviews and ratings? The KeyWatch developers simply purchased fake ratings and reviews, which flooded the App Store offerings and gave users the impression that the app is a legitimate Apple Watch keyboard. According to Appfigures data, KeyWatch earns $ 2 million a year through its App Store scam.
False ratings and fake reviews. It quickly places the scam at the top of the search results and leaves honest and hardworking developers in the dust. An old problem that is not easy to solve, but which is at the heart of why App Store app discovery is so problematic.
After Eleftheriou’s Twitter thread gained traction, Apple removed KeyWatch and a handful of other similar scams from Apple Watch keyboard apps. That said, the company did not act so quickly against similar applications from the same ‘developer’.
But since then, Eleftheriou has exposed additional fraudulent applications in the App Store. Over the weekend, he posted a simple thread in which ‘how to track down a $ 5 million a year scam in the App Store, within five minutes.’ This time he showcased Star Gazer +, which is still available in the App Store with a 4.4 rating and over 80,000 ratings.
The situation is almost the same as the original example of KeyWatch. The ‘developer’ releases a barely functioning app with a weekly subscriber requirement. The App Store list is flooded with fake ratings and reviews, misleading users into thinking it is a legitimate service.
Potential solutions
Developer Marco Arment took to Twitter, which suggests that one solution to eliminating this scam would be for Apple to eliminate the weekly subscription billing option altogether. This seems to be a common tactic used by many of the scammers stressed by Eleftheriou’s tweets.
Other developers also joined the conversation suggesting possible solutions. For example, David Barnard tweeted a concept he shared for the first time in 2019 about how Apple could redesign the App Store’s’ purchase page ‘to make users’ payment terms clearer.
Eleftheriou also points out that some of Apple’s App Store marketing materials give users the impression that they do not have to worry about scam apps.
He also described that he should contact Apple directly about these issues when talking to him. TechCrunch:
“They put you in touch with the developer involved and oversee the thread while hoping that you will resolve the issue directly with the other party,” he explains. ‘The scammers I complained about in that dispute were not even the bigger scammers I mention in my Twitter thread. However, the complaint I had with them was barely addressed, and there was no response from Apple on the issue of the false ratings and reviews. Simply ‘if we do not hear from you again soon, we will consider the matter resolved’. We even went private to Apple after that, but got no response. ”
Theoretically, App Store Review should be able to filter some of these applications, but Apple should also make a better effort to eliminate false ratings and reviews. A quick Google search shows 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 scam application in the App Store? Let us know in the comments.
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