
Gaming Apple App Store's Review System (View in iTunes - Read Reviews) - jabo
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lockify-your-lock-screen-hd/id451287882?mt=8
======
zach
The current state of the art that I've noticed for App Store review spam is
to:

1) Create accounts well ahead of time

2) Use the accounts to give nearly-always-five-star reviews to several highly-
rated and frequently-reviewed free apps, such as Angry Birds Free, Instagram,
etc.

3) Age the accounts for a while (weeks maybe) while continuing to repeat steps
1 and 2 to create more accounts.

4) Having collected enough seasoned accounts, use them all at once to pile on
fraudulent downloads and nearly-all-five-star reviews to maximize chart
impact.

The result is many fraudulent positive reviews for not just appspam but
popular legitimate apps as well. Many popular free apps end up with many more
reviews that are overwhelmingly positive (a rich-get-richer effect) and have
the trademark brief and too-weird proto-English that characterize fake app
reviews.

It's a strange phenomenon -- try reading a few pages of Angry Birds Free
reviews sometime (preferably morning hours in North America) and you'll see
what I mean. The developers of top free apps are receiving (and benefitting
from) spam reviews they never solicited.

------
Groxx
For those not willing to launch iTunes, the review breakdown is as follows:

    
    
      ★★★★★ [============= ] 354
        ★★★★ [==            ] 26
          ★★★ [=             ] 12
           ★★ [=             ] 10
            ★ [==============] 384
    

And the "most helpful" review (15 of 17 people said it was helpful) looks like
this:

    
    
      Great App ★★★★★
      by Bondfan200
      Great App!! Let's you be more creative with your iPhone.
    

You are probably capable of imagining what the rest of the first-page reviews
are.

\----

Now would probably be a good time to complain about how _horrible_ the App
Store is. There are good things _on_ it, but it's horrendous - finding good
ones is hard, there's no way to demo paid apps (why not?! they control the
whole system, they could enforce rules!), no way to review without paying, and
no way to view _or_ rate "+/- helpful" from the iPod/Phone (don't know about
ipad). That last one in particular seems the greatest oversight for preventing
this kind of thing.

It's almost an _ideal_ system for exploitation. I simply can't comprehend why
it has stood this way for this long. Has Jobs even looked at this thing? I
would think he'd be livid, it's total crap.

~~~
napierzaza
The app store has changed in many ways since its inception.

Originally people were putting non-letter characters in the beginning of the
apps name so they appeared at the top if alphabetical lists. They would also
release updates all the time because that would put them at the top of the
"new" list. It's evolving and I hope they find a solution.

And I'm sure it will change more in the future. But it's not nearly as bad and
you're implying.

Now tell me about your favourite app store and how it has solved your
discovered problems...

~~~
Groxx
Oh, it's simple: I haven't found a single one. Amazon, however, does a much
better job with their store. Even Ebay does alright, with seller ratings (no
developer ratings in the app store? wtf, just keep scamming!).

That non-letter characters would put things at the beginning of alphabetical
lists should have been forseen and accounted for (or ignored) from the very
earliest planning stages, the _instant_ they decided to have an alphabetical
listing somewhere. That constantly releasing updates would keep them at the
top of the "new" list should have been seen the _instant_ they decided to have
a "new" list in the first place, and an app's position weighed against the
frequency of its release. That borderline-shady developers would continue to
produce borderline-shady applications should have been seen the _instant_ they
decided to allow a developer / company to submit more than one application,
and steps taken to help either Apple or consumers identify potential problems.

Meanwhile, we have _this_.

They have left _gaping_ holes to exploit the system, and they've existed for
_three years_ in the largest app store out there by a massive margin. There's
no way to get around that being shameful.

------
olivercameron
Unfortunately, scams like this aren't new on the App Store. Ever since the App
Store has been around there's been seedy apps perpetrating to do things that
just aren't possible. You just have to do a search for apps like "location
trackers" to see how widespread it is.

I saw this particular app in the Top 100 around 2 months ago, and noticed it
had an average rating of 1 star, how this has evaded being on Apple's radar
for this long is beyond me.

Apple has taken a lot of flak for being too stringent and strict with the App
Store review process, but this is one area the whole process was designed to
fix. This is literally a case of a single guy falsely advertising his app and,
by all accounts, having hundreds of thousands people fall for it and pay $1.99
for the privilege of being screwed.

~~~
joshuamerrill
My email just now to the App Store review team:

Dear Apple, As an Apple developer and longtime user, I'm proud to recommend
Apple products to my friends and family. There is simplicity, thoughtful
constraint, and craftsmanship in everything Apple does.

That's why I was stunned to see this app--and numerous others from the same
developer--in the App Store: [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lockify-your-
lock-screen-hd/i...](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lockify-your-lock-screen-
hd/id451287882?mt=8)

I'm surprised this app was approved in the first place. By many accounts, it
does absolutely nothing. I cannot count on two hands how many App Store rules
this developer is violating.

And the App Store review system is obviously being gamed. This developer is
earning thousands of hard-earned dollars from Apple customers who trust you to
keep garbage out of the App Store.

I love Apple. Please don't let the App Store resemble the cheap, neglected
morass of the Android Market.

Sincerely, Joshua Merrill

~~~
shaggyfrog
Your e-mail is probably destined for the bitbucket. If you really want to
affect change, I'd suggest spreading a link to this to everyone you can.
Generally, with problems like this, they only go away after reaching a
sufficient level of media exposure.

On the other hand, if you're really lucky, someone from Apple is reading this
right now and taking care of it :)

~~~
joshuamerrill
I've found Apple to be surprisingly responsive in the past. But here's hoping.

~~~
richbradshaw
I've just gone on the App Store and there is just one review saying it's
rubbish...

Wonder if they've cleaned it up...

~~~
joshuamerrill
Apple responded to my email. It appears they have pulled this developer's
apps!

------
Cushman
You can buy and rate an app through iTunes without actually having a iPhone
synced, right? 400 scammy 5-star reviews don't represent 400 iPhones out
there, they represent 400 PayPal accounts — shoot, it might even be the same
PayPal account — and a bill for $800 less $560 earnings.

I just confirmed this by creating a new Apple ID, linking it to my real PayPal
which has been linked to a different account in the past, and buying and
reviewing a (different, non-scammy) app. (Sorry Apple!)

Seems like the quick fix here is to require you to rate apps on the device
itself. It would raise the barrier to entry significantly, at least.

~~~
benjaminma
Or a bill of $400...

Aug 07 '11 $1.99 -> $2.99 Aug 06 '11 $.99 -> $1.99 Aug 04 '11 New App: $.99
(release)

This scam isn't limited to paid apps.

There are "marketing" services that promise tens of thousands of downloads of
your app on the day of your choosing (obviously, to game the iTunes free
rankings).

Apparently, another developer is claiming the assets/screenshots used are also
stolen by this stand up guy:

[http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lockitize-your-lock-
screen/id...](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lockitize-your-lock-
screen/id445198370?mt=8)

~~~
Cushman
Which has 34 5-star reviews, _546_ 1-star reviews, and none in between.

This is pretty ludicrous :P

------
jabo
Click on "View in iTunes" and read through the reviews. The app is currently
number one under the paid utilities section. I really don't know how they
managed to get there. Fake accounts writing reviews? Mechanical Turk?

FYI: All the app does is change your wallpaper.

~~~
angryasian
I'm very interested in how these are being gamed as well

------
potatolicious
I see the $99 developer fee and the closed ecosystem is keeping out the riff
raff like it's supposed to...

~~~
cageface
The app store is brimming with crap. The only advantage I can see of Apple's
gatekeeping at this point is that Apple seems to be doing a _much_ better job
of keeping out malware than Google. That alone might be enough to justify
their approach if the growth rate of Android malware doesn't change.

------
zxer
The plot thickens: [http://itunes.apple.com/app/lockitize-your-lock-
screen/id445...](http://itunes.apple.com/app/lockitize-your-lock-
screen/id445198370?mt=8)

This is the exact same app from a different developer, who claims that the
other one is a copy-cat and a scam. (leaving out the small detail that his own
app is a scam as well)

~~~
jabo
Oh man, a scam app being copied! This is pretty hilarious..

------
olivercameron
This is getting insane. The app is now sitting at number 4 in the Top 100 paid
apps, and he also just jacked the price up from $1.99 to $2.99.

Surely staying off Apple's radar was his best bet? Instead he's decided to
make a relatively quick buck selling 50,000 copies per day. I seriously hope
Apple withholds his pay check when it is inevitably taken down.

------
cubicle67
This one, by the same developer(s?) is far worse
<http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/id452096746?mt=8>

It's called Flash网页浏览器 and the entire description (in the AU store) is in
(chinese?) except for a few words like "Adobe Flash","100%" and
"SOUTHPARKSTUDIOS.COM FTW!!!!!" The screenshots appear to depict an iPad
viewing a number of flash based sites and playing flash games. Oh, and it's
$10.49

Edit: Their description contains a link to a "trial version" at
<http://hdmediaplus.biz/flash>. This redirects to
<http://www.dailymotion.com/html5> which demos a movie playing using html5

~~~
cynix
The Chinese description looks like machine translation.

------
ericd
Ha notice the name of the company, too... © Midwest Blizzard Entertainment
Inc.

------
mattberg
Unfortunately this seems to be a pretty common occurrence. I have seen it
quite often in the Entertainment section with apps like X-Ray Scan or Phone
Tracker. Not sure why nothing is ever done about it.

------
bignoggins
Apple recently tried to curb this by preventing reviews from promo codes.
Looks like they just Bought the apps outright.

These review scam aren't the worst of it. A lot of good reviews won't
necessarily mean good sales for your app. I've seen tons of apps with five
star reviews languish in the app store. The bigger worry to me is companies
like appmagenta which promise a certain ranking using bot downlods.

------
Joshim5
Developer's twitter page: <http://twitter.com/#!/Midw3stBlizzard>

------
nanijoe
I genuinely need someone to please help me understand what the problem is. How
is this developer gaming the review system?

~~~
jabo
Answer this: Is it pure coincidence that an equal number of people hate the
app and love it so much as to give it a 5 star rating?

Oh and EVERY five star rater also recommends the app strongly for others to
give it a try.

Oh and all the app does us change your lock screen wallpaper.

~~~
jabo
Here are some interesting comments from the 5 star raters:

"Lock screen is an amazing game I love it" - 6 out of 6 customers found this
review helpful

"Use it everyday" - The app was published on August 04 and this comment was on
August 06.

"Great app. Love the sync capability. Can't beat the price:-)" - Reminds of
those random spam comments I used to get on a blog I maintained.

"This is the way it's supposed to be! This is an essentially perfect app. The
developers are GREAT too!"

"I use this program more than any single other on my iPhone, and IPad. The
devs are really responsive and they are totally dedicated to making this the
best, most useful app in your arsenal"

"The application is wonderful, very nice design, stores all of the information
you could possibly want. I really love it and would 100% recommend it." - It's
a wallpaper changing app!

"This is a great example of what an iPhone app should be! Great work!
Definitely work the price. Check out this great app today and you'll love it!"
- What a genuine review. Most helpful so far.

------
Joshim5
This app (by yet another developer than listed below), called Locketize your
iPhone, has 32 five star reviews and only 4 one star reviews.
[http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lockitize-your-
iphone/id45266...](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lockitize-your-
iphone/id452663210?mt=8)

------
karipatila
Can you still review an app you "purchased" with a promo code?

Seems like a flaw to allow people who didn't pay for the app to rate it. This
would also allow giving away codes in exchange for a certain amount of stars.

~~~
jlmendezbonini
As far as I know, no, you can not longer write reviews from apps downloaded
with promo codes. It seems that the change was recent (couple of months ago).
A google search showed lots of articles about but I couldn't find an official
Apple statement about it.

~~~
SeoxyS
You still can. I've had friends review my apps even though I gave them all
promo codes. And for the record, I don't think it's unethical to ask a few
friends for a favor.

It'd actually recommend as a marketing strategy to hand out as many promo
codes as possible. To bloggers, friends, anybody who asks or complains about
your app on twitter. The goodwill you gain is worth far more than the
potential lost sales. Even at $20, I think giving out promo codes has made me
much more in good business than the thousand bucks in "lost sales."

------
jabo
Update: The app is currently number 12 in the top grossing list. Most recent
reviews are crying foul and insist on getting their money back and Apple is
yet to do anything about this.

------
jabo
When I first saw it, the app was $1.99. It is now $2.99.

------
sissym
guys this is botnet. reviewing/buying from the bots - do what you want. and no
proofs. i think this guy will receive his money. sorry for pure engl

------
startupcto
To be honest, there is no proof that the developer made up false reviews. In
fact, the description in the middle of the page states pretty clearly that
this App provides perceived notion of security and it's just a decoy.

So what to take away from this? For one, 99% of AppStore users don't fucking
read the description. In fact I would have bet that the only two things that
made them bought the app what the icon and name.

~~~
jabo
You should read some of the reviews for the app:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2855656>

