IOS app scam has hit the Apple App Store for several years, but in the last two weeks the developer Kosta Eleftheriou sent on Twitter to point out that the problem remains as big as ever in at least some app categories – and also gave iOS users a way to identify them.
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Taking flagrant deceptions of its own Apple Watch FlickType keyboard application as an example of how scammers plunder and exploit the work of genuine application developers, Eleftheriou outlined some of the ways these scams work.
Just a few months ago, I was well ahead of my competition. When they realized how tough the autocorrect algorithms were, I was already launching the sliding version of my keyboard, quickly approaching the iPhone typing speed. So how did they beat me?
First, they created an app that seemed to fulfill the promise of a clock keyboard – but it was virtually unusable. Then they started advertising heavily on FB and Instagram, using my own promotional video, my own app, with my real name on it.
According to Eleftheriou, there are several clones of its FlickType application, but one of the clearest non-functional errors was “KeyWatch”, which was launched with a blank interface and a “Unlock now” button. Touching the button asked users to confirm a subscription of 8 USD / week for an application that does nothing.
According to Eleftheriou, the scam gained prominence in the App Store by playing Apple’s algorithmic rating system by purchasing fake ratings and brilliant five-star reviews, which raised it to the top of its app category. He even promoted his software using his own promotional video, which includes his real name.
So far I’ve been in the “Apple * wants * to do the right thing” camp. My point of view is starting to change. How to identify a scam of 5 million USD / year on @App Store, in 5 minutes flat: 👇 – Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) February 6, 2021
Since then, Apple has removed the fake app from the App Store, although the developer account responsible for several scam apps remains active. Eleftheriou says that before KeyWatch was removed, developers had long benefited from what had become a $ 2 million-a-year scam, which went largely unnoticed by Apple moderators until it exposed it in person.
Since then, Eleftheriou has taken part in a Twitter crusade to expose several scam apps in the App Store, such as the so-called Star Watch app, which is called “Star Gazer +” and basically uses the same proven masking time strategy. as a genuine app that is barely functional and encourages users in an exorbitant weekly subscription fee in the app.
At the time of writing, the “Star Gazer +” scam app is still listed in the App Store with an average rating of 4.5 stars and over 80,000 reviews.
Eleftheriou’s exposure to the rampant App Store scheme has led many more developers as well critics to share their own experiences and hopefully put pressure on Apple to step up its application moderation and consider reviewing its interface and billing options, including the suggestion removal the full weekly subscription option.
Apple has not yet commented on Eleftheriou’s findings, but we will be sure to update this article if we hear anything.