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Over the past few weeks, developer Kosta Eleftheriou has highlighted many apparent fraudulent apps on the App Store. The formula for every scam app is virtually identical and focuses on fake reviews and ratings associated with a deceptive weekly subscription.
Eleftheriou is the developer of 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 Blind Type, acquired by Google.
The thread started two weeks ago, when Eleftheriou started highlighting apps that were essentially non-working FlickType scams. One of the most egregious was KeyWatch:
Just a few months ago, I was way ahead of my competition. By the time they figured out how difficult autocorrect algorithms were, I was already deploying the slip version of my keyboard, quickly approaching iPhone typing speeds. So how did they beat me?
First, they created an app that seemed to fulfill the promise of a watch keyboard – but was virtually unusable. Then they started to advertise on FB and Instagram, using my own promo video, from my own app, with my real name on it.
When users downloaded the app, the first screen was a blank interface with an “Unlock Now” button. Hit the “Unlock Now” button, and you’ll be prompted at Apple’s purchase screen to confirm an $ 8 / week subscription for an app that wasn’t functional.
What about App Store reviews and ratings? The developers of KeyWatch simply bought fake ratings and reviews, which flooded the App Store listings and made users feel like the app was a legitimate Apple Watch keyboard. According to Appfigures data, KeyWatch was generating $ 2 million per year from its App Store scam.
False reviews and false reviews. These quickly push scams to the top of search results, leaving honest and hardworking developers in the dust. An old problem that is not easy to fix, but which is at the heart of why discovering apps on the App Store is so problematic.
After Eleftheriou’s Twitter feed gained traction, Apple removed KeyWatch and a handful of other similar fraudulent Apple Watch keyboard apps from the App Store. That being said, the company hasn’t acted so quickly against similar apps from the same “developer”.
But since then Eleftheriou has exposed additional scam apps on the App Store. Over the weekend, he posted a simple discussion thread on “How to spot a $ 5 million a year App Store scam in 5 minutes flat.” This time it featured Star Gazer +, which is still available on the App Store with a 4.4 rating and over 80,000 ratings.
The situation is almost the same as the original KeyWatch example. The “developer” publishes a barely functional app with a weekly subscription requirement. The App Store listing is inundated with bogus ratings and reviews, leading people to think that this is a legitimate service.
Potential solutions
Developer Marco Arment spoke on Twitter, suggesting that one solution to eliminating these scams would be for Apple to completely eliminate the option of weekly billing subscriptions. This turned out to be a common tactic used by many crooks highlighted by Eleftheriou’s tweets.
Other developers have also joined the conversation, suggesting possible solutions. For example, David Barnard retweeted a concept he first shared in 2019 about how Apple could redesign the App Store’s “buy sheet” 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 have to worry about scam apps.
He also described reaching out to Apple directly about these issues when he spoke to TechCrunch:
“They put you in touch with the other developer in question and oversee the thread, hoping that you resolve the issue directly with the other party,” he explains. “The crooks I complained about in this dispute weren’t even the biggest crooks I mention in my Twitter feed. Still, the complaint I had with them was barely dealt with and there has been no response from Apple on the issue of false ratings and reviews. Simply “if we don’t get back to you very soon, we’ll consider the problem solved.” We even contacted Apple privately after that, but got no response. “
Theoretically, App Store Review should be able to filter out some of these apps, but Apple should also make a better effort to weed out false ratings and reviews. A quick Google search reveals just how advanced the industry is, making Apple’s silence even more deafening.
What do you think of the issues highlighted by Eleftheriou? Have you ever come across a scam app on the App Store? Let us know in the comments.
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