(Disclaimer: I'm an indie iOS/Android developer, so I may be more biased on this issue.)
There are a number of apps of this type. "Real FBI GPS Phone Tracker Pro" (under various names) is another repeat offender. The description goes on to say that the application uses GPS satellites to pinpoint the location of any phone number, "It works, guaranteed!" and then as a last sentence mentions that it's a gimmick. This app repeatedly comes up to top 100 paid under different names and publishers. As soon as one version disappears, another comes up with another author and app name, but very similar description.
What's fascinating is that the reviews (if you browse through them) fall into two buckets: 5 star reviews proclaiming that it works, and highly negative reviews. This smells fishy. The 5 star reviews must be fabricated, if I know any better.
★★★★★ Buy it!
by loganczyz
Buy this app!! I would of paid millions for it
★★★★★ awesome technology
by Reynagreen
It should be prohibited .... big brother ..
Word on the street is that these happen from operations that commandeer thousands of iTunes accounts to purchase and leave reviews, floating these apps to the top.
As a developer, I do find it kind of a bummer to spend many hours on my apps and then see these make it. Of course, I do know I should spend more time building apps and promoting them through creative means rather than being angry at the status quo.
However, I don't buy the argument that "people want these kinds of apps". I see the typical customer as a click-happy teenager who wants it to work, buys it, sees it doesn't work, and then forgets about the 99 cents wasted. In the meantime, the scammer gets wealthier.
I suppose this is no different from selling muscle supplements, acai berries, or get-rich-quick books, but still. Ugh.
I think thee crappy apps are mostly a scam and hurt Apple and all of us devs. Sure, Flashlight is trivial but at least it works. Night Vision is a true lie and feels like adware/spyware is invading the IOS world.
Apple knows about these apps and exploits (and various other exploits), yet they do little to get rid of them. Apps like these should be prohibited by the guidelines. Nobody needs hundreds of apps that serve absolutely no purpose at all besides attempt to scam people out of 99¢.
Apple doesn't do much about them because the issues aren't in the public eye and from the media's perspective, they're not very newsworthy so I doubt much will change along these lines. It's not like these are new issues by any stretch of the imagination.
So yeah, while this does hurt us devs to some extent, it has little negative effect on Apple, IMO.
> 2.3 Apps that do not perform as advertised by the developer will be rejected
> 2.11 Apps that duplicate apps already in the App Store may be rejected, particularly if there are many of them, such as fart, burp, flashlight, and Kama Sutra apps.
They ARE prohibited by the guidelines, and I'm surprised they get approved.
There are a number of apps of this type. "Real FBI GPS Phone Tracker Pro" (under various names) is another repeat offender. The description goes on to say that the application uses GPS satellites to pinpoint the location of any phone number, "It works, guaranteed!" and then as a last sentence mentions that it's a gimmick. This app repeatedly comes up to top 100 paid under different names and publishers. As soon as one version disappears, another comes up with another author and app name, but very similar description.
Example (top 41 right now in the US App Store): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phone-tracker-spy-pro-locate/...
What's fascinating is that the reviews (if you browse through them) fall into two buckets: 5 star reviews proclaiming that it works, and highly negative reviews. This smells fishy. The 5 star reviews must be fabricated, if I know any better.
Word on the street is that these happen from operations that commandeer thousands of iTunes accounts to purchase and leave reviews, floating these apps to the top.As a developer, I do find it kind of a bummer to spend many hours on my apps and then see these make it. Of course, I do know I should spend more time building apps and promoting them through creative means rather than being angry at the status quo.
However, I don't buy the argument that "people want these kinds of apps". I see the typical customer as a click-happy teenager who wants it to work, buys it, sees it doesn't work, and then forgets about the 99 cents wasted. In the meantime, the scammer gets wealthier.
I suppose this is no different from selling muscle supplements, acai berries, or get-rich-quick books, but still. Ugh.