Read on Twitter
Steps to reproduce:
1. Search a high traffic keyword like wallpapers, scanner, VPN, etc.
2. Download the top 5 search results
3. At least one (often multiple) will be shady apps pushing expensive weekly subscriptions using various dark patterns
4. Get mad at Apple all over again https://twitter.com/peternlewis/status/1356060405919956996
1. Search a high traffic keyword like wallpapers, scanner, VPN, etc.
2. Download the top 5 search results
3. At least one (often multiple) will be shady apps pushing expensive weekly subscriptions using various dark patterns
4. Get mad at Apple all over again https://twitter.com/peternlewis/status/1356060405919956996
2/ More steps to reproduce:
1. Browse TikTok and tap on app ads until you find a shady subscription app
2. Start a free trial in that app (TikTok has now identified you as an easy mark)
3. Tap on any new app ads you see and explore just how bad things really are on the App Store
1. Browse TikTok and tap on app ads until you find a shady subscription app
2. Start a free trial in that app (TikTok has now identified you as an easy mark)
3. Tap on any new app ads you see and explore just how bad things really are on the App Store
3/ I spent a couple hours doing this on TikTok and sending the apps to Apple. Most are still up. Example: $2/week for a handful of bad live wallpapers (ad on TikTok was nothing like the app) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aquarium-hd-fish-scenes/id535924141
4/ $30/mo for an app that’s supposed to turn photos into cartoons, but doesn’t actually work anything like the ads. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeJgeeW1/ (not sure that was the exact ad, but there are a bunch of similar scam apps doing the same stuff) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/selfiecam-cartoon-photo-editor/id1519204244
5/ $15 a month for an app that completely misrepresents what it can do. Look at the screenshots, then try the app. Oh, and when I downloaded this one, it was (“accidentally” I’m sure) not actually giving a free trial. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/digiart-cartoon-photo-editor/id1473940972
6/ Here’s the TikTok ad for that one. This is the scam:
1. False advertising
2. Paywall on launch and then with almost any tap of any feature
3. Buy fake reviews so it doesn’t look shady
4. Count on Apple not finding/pulling the app before you scam a bunch of people & get the $$$
1. False advertising
2. Paywall on launch and then with almost any tap of any feature
3. Buy fake reviews so it doesn’t look shady
4. Count on Apple not finding/pulling the app before you scam a bunch of people & get the $$$
7/ Apple should absolutely tread lightly on dictating business models and telling developers what they can and can’t charge. And I’ve even warmed up to weekly subscriptions for the right apps.
8/ These scams work because Apple isn’t policing ratings/reviews and doesn’t quickly/publicly/severely punish the scammers. The tactics have changed a bit since I wrote about scamming the App Store in 2018, but it’s gotten worse overall, not better: https://davidbarnard.com/post/180568817995/how-to-game-the-app-store
9/ What’s so frustrating is that tens of millions of people are getting scammed by these apps and then view the App Store generally, and subscriptions specifically, with suspicion. They are 
ing in the pool the rest of us have to swim in and Apple isn’t cleaning it up.
ing in the pool the rest of us have to swim in and Apple isn’t cleaning it up.
10/ Hat tip to @keleftheriou for getting me all fired up again. I’ve been finding these scams and reporting them to Apple, but haven’t said anything publicly in a while. I’m just so tired of Apple not taking this stuff seriously. https://twitter.com/keleftheriou/status/1356011069395755009
11/ Here’s a great thread from @rjonesy breaking it down last year (but we’ve all been complaining to Apple about this stuff for YEARS, 12 years in my case). https://twitter.com/rjonesy/status/1149341755822809094
12/ At various times I’ve heard rumors that Apple did create that “bunko squad”, but if they did, that team is absolutely terrible at their jobs. https://twitter.com/gruber/status/1169078580703375361
13/ Here’s an exercise for a team inside Apple (the company that obsesses about customers, but apparently not App Store customers): find one of these apps that is obviously scammy, but maybe doesn’t break enough rules in plain sight to completely pull it from the App Store.
14/ Dump all past & current subscribers into a database & look for people who stayed subscribed for more than a few weeks. Then call them up and do a user interview. Do they realize how much they spent on the app? Do they know how to unsubscribe? Did they get the renewal emails?
15/ There are so many other interesting questions they could ask to get to the root of how App Store customers are actually experiencing these scams, including whether they tried to contact App Store support (and probably had another bad experience if they did).
16/ I could go on, but I should be asleep. One last dig while I’m here… App Store search being terrible also plays into the scams. Driving huge volume via ads, buying fake reviews, and using other tactics to rank high in search are part of how the bigger scams make it work.
17/ If Apple did/does create a bunko squad, one of the things they should do is set up a few shell companies with apps and then actually buy fake reviews, join the private communities that talk about how to pull of these scams, turn a few scammers into informants, etc. https://twitter.com/keleftheriou/status/1357206248085590017
18/ Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake (if not in direct payments to scammers, in loss of future revenue from people burned by the scams). Law enforcement takes much pettier scams much more seriously to protect consumers.
19/ Amazon should do the same BTW. My wife and I were burned by several scams over the holidays and have gotten more and more wary of buying on Amazon (I now use Fakespot on most purchases, which is annoying and ridiculous)
20/ Apple and Amazon *choose* to not solve these problems, it’s not that they are unable. With massive profits come big, solvable problems, but apparently not the will to solve them. And that’s a huge mistake for both “customer obsessed” companies. https://twitter.com/glen_george/status/1357210467874320385
21/ Part of the problem and what Apple is missing is that a big part of the scam doesn’t happen inside the app. These apps get people hyped up with false advertising, then hit them with the paywall on launch. The paywall is also customized based on source, ad vs organic. https://twitter.com/jordibruin/status/1357229348097568768
22/ Some of this will go away with App Tracking Transparency since apps won’t be able to customize the paywal based on source, but as I said before, the scam just doesn't work period if the app has all 1 star reviews, and that’s on Apple to fix, not us to crowdsource.
23/ Speaking of ATT… it dawned on me yesterday that this is one more area where scammers will break the rules and conscientious developers will be at a disadvantage. As the dialog says, you can only “Ask App Not to Track”, this doesn’t fully prevent tracking.
24/ Even if fingerprinting and other techniques are only ~50% effective (they will often be higher), developers who break those rules will be at a huge advantage in being able to better measure ad spent, customize scam paywalls, etc.
25/ I’ve been saying this for the better part of a decade, but Apple needs to fundamentally rethink how they police the App Store. App Review is broken. Conscientious developers are nit-picked and prevented from releasing innovative features while scammers run wild.
26/ Unfortunately, I think Apple is way too insular to pull off the reboot that needs to take place. They’ll read this tweet and be offended that I would say that, and tell themselves and their colleagues that they really do understand the problems and are working to solve them.
27/ But it’ll be another 5 years and another couple bandaids that make Apple feel better, but don’t actually address the underlying issues and real tradeoffs happening in the multi-billion dollar marketplace they wield complete control over.
28/ Since the start of this thread last night I’ve already gotten DMs from people at big platforms who did some of the things I suggested Apple do and it’s been a huge help in policing their platform.
29/ I’ve gotten DMs from people who’ve had conversations with high level people at Apple that demonstrate the kind of insular thinking that is driving decisions at Apple without understanding the real tradeoffs and ramifications of those decisions.
30/ I rant because I care. For all the ills of social media in our pockets, screen addiction, etc. I still believe that smartphones have ultimately changed the world for the better. And 3rd party apps are responsible for much of the good smartphones have brought to people’s lives
31/ 3rd party apps will also be a big part of mitigating the downsides and tradeoffs of smartphones and other technology. (
@withopal)
@withopal)
32/ And that’s why it’s so important that Apple reshape the App Store around the realities of 2021. Letting go of past notions of what it should be and the failed policies that are just bandaids on much bigger issues.
33/ One of the more pressing things Apple needs to completely rethink is their willingness to forgo short-term services revenue to build a better platform for developers and forestall governmental regulation. https://twitter.com/drbarnard/status/1314323615467401217
