Copycat apps that copy concepts and functions from other applications have always existed in the Apple App Store. Recently, developer Kevin Archer complained that the copycat apps are the ones that Apple has not. solved problem.
Archer’s app called the “Authenticator-2 Factor app,” is an authentication app that stores online account information and generates secure two-factor authentication tokens. Last week, Archer spotted another app on the App Store, the “Authenticator-App” from Russia’s Byte Service, with a very similar name.
Archer claims that the copycat app not only extracts style and text from his app verbatim but also replicates his app’s features that don’t actually exist in the copycat app, such as Apple Watch support.
Seems like they have the same app submitted on another developer account, they only changed the color. It’s green now. https://t.co/2MQAo62vVm pic.twitter.com/J7obMRFE9w
— Kevin Archer (@IM_Kevin_Archer) February 19, 2022
Furthermore, contrary to Apple’s developer guidelines, the copycat app requires users to give an App Store review (and thus gain popularity) on first use. It also requires a weekly subscription fee of $3.99, or $335 per year if the user forgets to cancel.
Today I was browsing the App Store, analyzing how my app keywords were doing and I found an interesting app out there. pic.twitter.com/3pfPFxBolZ
— Kevin Archer (@IM_Kevin_Archer) February 17, 2022
Archer later found another app in the App Store, but with a different icon. This app was submitted through another developer account but is also a knockoff.
“I really don’t understand how these apps pass the App Store review, the features they describe are useless, the design is copied, users have to rate the app before they even see it, and a weekly subscription is required.” Archer Going on to say that indie developers often get their apps “rejected for stupid stupid reasons” while others “send the app store crap with parodies and weekly subscriptions”
Fraud in iOS apps has plagued the Apple App Store for several years. Back in 2012, Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller was furious when a knockoff app topped the App Store charts.
Recently, some developers have mentioned that the problem is still as serious as ever, at least in some applications. Just last year, Apple was sued by developer Kosta Eleftheriou, who argued that the Apple App Store was plagued with fraud and copycat apps.
Mainstream game Wordle has also recently become the latest victim of App Store problems. As the game has grown in popularity, Wordle knockoffs have popped up in the App Store, and some knockoff apps even offer in-app subscriptions, while the original game is completely free.
Apple recently reinstated the “report a problem” option on the App Store to allow developers to flag issues and crackdown on knockoffs. When checked, this option directs users to a website with a drop-down menu to report violations in the App Store, including a specific option to “Report Fraud or Scam.” However, developers are generally frustrated that there is no way to directly Get in touch with the App Store team.