Apple Warns Developers Not to Manipulate App Store Rankings

Now I know how some really stupid apps makes it in the top 25

I think this all boils down to one thing: There's too many apps out there.

I understand why developers would resort to these tactics: You could write a fantastic app but it'd be buried under thousands of others, it may never get the initial exposure it needs to take off.

On the other side of this, I find it increasingly difficult to find apps I like these days. Not just because there's so many apps out there, but also because of companies like the ones mentioned in this article messing up the ratings system.

What's the solution here? How could Apple better organize and catalogue the huge collection of apps?

Good.

I'm glad Apple are taking a more prominent note of this. I'm not an app developer, but it certainly does bug me how I have to wade through the tons of crap that I know has made its way into the top 100 by unfair means.

(Although I am completely aware that people are stupid/ bored enough to download them too).

It's the 5 star reviews for the apps that annoy me the most though.

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There's been quite a few groups 'renting' out their botnet capabilities for services like this lately. No surprise the app store also turns out to be one such target.

Mr Fusion said:

What's the solution here? How could Apple better organize and catalogue the huge collection of apps?

Click to expand...

I do much more Searching instead of Browsing, and I generally already have an app in mind from searching the larger web before I enter the store. By that means, I can enjoy the best-of-the-best apps without wading through too much shovelware.

That said, when I do Browse the store/categories, I like to place limits: especially based on star ratings. (That’s something the iPad-based store app does, not sure about the iPhone version.) The number of results can still be high, but not so high that I can’t glance through and weed out the obvious junk. Often based on name and/or icon alone.

And I can spot fake reviews a mile off But I’m sure many people don’t bother reading through them, especially for a free app.

Mr Fusion said:

I think this all boils down to one thing: There's too many apps out there.

I understand why developers would resort to these tactics: You could write a fantastic app but it'd be buried under thousands of others, it may never get the initial exposure it needs to take off.

On the other side of this, I find it increasingly difficult to find apps I like these days. Not just because there's so many apps out there, but also because of companies like the ones mentioned in this article messing up the ratings system.

What's the solution here? How could Apple better organize and catalogue the huge collection of apps?

Click to expand...

They could start by adding sub-categories for non-gamings apps.

And perhaps add a "novelty" category for all those pointless gimmick apps.

Sorry to say that this has been going on for a loooong time. I remember looking through the countless "Mirror" and "Night Vision" apps and seeing all the identical reviews... Apple needs a way for users to report this so that we can stop the spamming.

Are all those downloads from unique IP address? Maybe somehow implement some kind of control where same IP addresses won't count. Even detecting proxy addresses if they try to download through proxy IPs.

So.. for just $5000, I can get Apple to remove any developer from the app store?

Zynga, here I come!

thejadedmonkey said:

So.. for just $5000, I can get Apple to remove any developer from the app store?

Zynga, here I come!

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I LOL'd

That's the problem with these kinds of things. Downloads are exponential. You get more downloads later when people download stuff.

If I search the exact name of my YouTube video, I don't see it because it only has 10 views, and it can't get more because it never comes up.

nagromme said:

I do much more Searching instead of Browsing, and I generally already have an app in mind from searching the larger web before I enter the store. By that means, I can enjoy the best-of-the-best apps without wading through too much shovelware.

That said, when I do Browse the store/categories, I like to place limits: especially based on star ratings. (That’s something the iPad-based store app does, not sure about the iPhone version.) The number of results can still be high, but not so high that I can’t glance through and weed out the obvious junk. Often based on name and/or icon alone.

And I can spot fake reviews a mile off But I’m sure many people don’t bother reading through them, especially for a free app.

Click to expand...

I know, there's no way to find the best apps in the app store. You have to go to google and YouTube.

thejadedmonkey said:

So.. for just $5000, I can get Apple to remove any developer from the app store?

Zynga, here I come!

Click to expand...

HAHAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


muahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

They'd deserve it. We need to start a "kill Zynga" foundation where we pay people to download it then get it removed.

Good job Apple, but they should also remove apps that are not even being updated anymore either I seem to find some that go back 2 years now. This is also the same problem with podcasts, so many old dead ones that never get updated anymore that really makes it difficult to search and also when it comes to searching for music. Why not have the music search by Record Labels or better Genre breakdown rather than just Dance and Electronic, like when I want to find Chill Out music it is really a mess, they have section for Chill Out or Ambient rather than just Electronic.

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Ellmer said:

I'm glad Apple are taking a more prominent note of this. I'm not an app developer, but it certainly does bug me how I have to wade through the tons of crap that I know has made its way into the top 100 by unfair means.

(Although I am completely aware that people are stupid/ bored enough to download them too).

It's the 5 star reviews for the apps that annoy me the most though.

Click to expand...

Especially the five-star reviews that say something like "Download this app, enter this code, win a free gift card!" Seems they're cracking down on these, though. I haven't seen many fake reviews recently.

I vastly prefer the Mac App Store. My apps actually get noticed on it, and just a week after paying my $100 to Apple for permission to sell my app on it, I've made back my $100. (Whereas I've sold multiple apps on the iOS app store for the past ten months and have only made $60 back from that so far.)

Edit: Of course, it could be that I just came up with a much better app idea for the Mac App Store than the iOS App Store. I guess more Mac users care about the batteries of their wireless trackpads/keyboards than iOS users care about having quick access to emoji characters.

Mr Fusion said:

On the other side of this, I find it increasingly difficult to find apps I like these days. Not just because there's so many apps out there, but also because of companies like the ones mentioned in this article messing up the ratings system.

Click to expand...

If there were a big customer need behind this difficulty, then where are the successful visible independant (not iOS ad or bribe supported) review sites? Or maybe a review site with a strongly moderated reputation-based system?

thejadedmonkey said:

So.. for just $5000, I can get Apple to remove any developer from the app store?

Click to expand...

Joe jobs probably being one reason why Apple has been slow and cautious to react.

ArtOfWarfare said:

I vastly prefer the Mac App Store.

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Less competition.

For some type of apps, where there are literally many dozens in the iOS App store, there might be only a few in the Mac App store, with some of them both more expensive and less useful than those available for iOS.

Also less 1-star, trained to rate on delete, customers.

So-called "developers" who would pay $5,000 for such a service are suckers. And their apps probably just plain suck.

Also, I'd hardly call $5,000 a "modest fee" (as the original article characterizes it).

japanime said:

Also, I'd hardly call $5,000 a "modest fee" (as the original article characterizes it).

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Doesn't that depend on how much the "developers" who are paying those scammers are making in return? They're included in the $4Billion+ that Apple has payed out.

It'd take a lot of iAds for zombie games to make back up $5000.

Mr Fusion said:

I think this all boils down to one thing: There's too many apps out there.

I understand why developers would resort to these tactics: You could write a fantastic app but it'd be buried under thousands of others, it may never get the initial exposure it needs to take off.

On the other side of this, I find it increasingly difficult to find apps I like these days. Not just because there's so many apps out there, but also because of companies like the ones mentioned in this article messing up the ratings system.

What's the solution here? How could Apple better organize and catalogue the huge collection of apps?

Click to expand...

Well first of I would start of with new apps tab...

Mr Fusion said:

I think this all boils down to one thing: There's too many apps out there.

I understand why developers would resort to these tactics: You could write a fantastic app but it'd be buried under thousands of others, it may never get the initial exposure it needs to take off.

On the other side of this, I find it increasingly difficult to find apps I like these days. Not just because there's so many apps out there, but also because of companies like the ones mentioned in this article messing up the ratings system.

What's the solution here? How could Apple better organize and catalogue the huge collection of apps?

Click to expand...

My personal theory is that Apple relaxed the quality standards in their review process in order to get the number of apps in the App Store to a point where it was a good marketing bulletpoint.

The biggest problem I have is with the Music category. Other categories have sub-categories to help refine searches, but Music is just one big cluster---k. There are so many garbage apps that are all the same -- all they do is promote a different band, using the exact same code -- that as a musician, finding music apps that are for *creating* music and not about being a fan of a band is very difficult. Apple should never have allowed these one-trick pony apps that are carbon copies into the store, but again, in my opinion they probably cared more about boosting the numbers.

Another problem is more on the customer side: the blackmailers. These people will redo their review and change their score to 1 star, stating, "I'll give your app five stars if you add magical ponies. Without magical ponies your app is trash!!" I'm not sure if anything can be done about it, but as a developer it sucks.

This all makes sense now. But its a shame to see some big, top notch companies use this service.

However, from a programming standpoint, how is this even possible? I mean creating 100,000+ iTunes accounts?

Temple Run has 567,497 Reviews?

I've been wondering why Temple Run has so many reviews compared to some other apps...this may explain things.