The problem of scam iOS apps has dogged Apple’s App Store for several years, but for the past two weeks, the developer has Kosta Eleftheriou has pointed to Twitter to emphasize that the problem remains as widespread as ever in at least some app categories – and also provided iOS users with a way to spot them.
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Eleftheriou took blatant rip-offs of his own popular FlickType Apple Watch keyboard app as an example of how scammers are chasing and exploiting the work of real app developers, Eleftheriou laid out some of the ways these scams work.
Just a few months ago, I was way ahead of the competition. By the time they figured out how difficult autocorrect algorithms were, I was already rolling out the swipe version of my keyboard, quickly approaching the iPhone’s typing speed. So how did they beat me?
First, they created an app that seemed to fulfill the promise of a watch keyboard, but was practically useless. Then they started to advertise heavily on FB and Instagram, using my own promo video, from my own app, with my real name on it.
According to Eleftheriou, there are several clones of his FlickType app, but one of the most obvious non-functional rip-offs was “KeyWatch,” which launched with a blank interface and an “Unlock Now” button. By tapping the button, users were asked to confirm a $ 8 / week subscription to an app that does nothing.
According to Eleftheriou, the scam gained notoriety in the App Store by gaming Apple’s algorithmic rating system through the purchase of false ratings and glowing five-star reviews, propelling it to the top of its app category. It even promoted its software using its own promotional video, which contains its real name.
Until now, I was in the “Apple * wants * to * do what’s right” camp. My position is starting to change. How to run a $ 5 million / year scam on it @App Store, flat in 5 minutes: 👇 – Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) February 6, 2021
Apple has since removed the fake app from the App Store, although the developer account is responsible for multiple scam apps remains active. Eleftheriou says that before KeyWatch was removed, the developers had long benefited from what had become a $ 2 million a year scam that went largely unnoticed by Apple moderators until he personally exposed it.
Since then, Eleftheriou has been on a Twitter crusade to expose more scam apps in the App Store, such as the so-called star gazing app called “Star Gazer +” that basically uses the same tried-and-true masquerade strategy. like a real app that is barely functional and trick users into an exorbitant weekly in-app subscription.
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 revelation of the rampant App Store schedule has led to many more developers and critics to share their own experiences and hopefully put pressure on Apple to tighten up app moderation and consider overhauling the billing interface and options, including the suggestion of remove the weekly subscription option all the way.
Apple hasn’t commented on Eleftheriou’s findings yet, but we’ll be sure to update this article if we hear about anything.