'Dash' App Removed From App Store for Alleged Review Manipulation

[A MacBook lover]

Because for a company with $220 Billion with a B in the bank, I expect a bit more of a response than a Phil Schiller "I looked into it, trust me" email. That reflects cult leader behavior. Apple PR should have been able to respond to this before Phil the Shill; they didn't, he did. Dismissively.

Why would Apple PR reach out to the developer via email? Phil sent a personal email to the dev, which was then published online for all to see. This wasn't a public display like twitter or a press statement.

Phil the Shill

But Apple didn't decide to go that way. Instead, they are vague, opaque, and respond like a bad neighborhood restaurant with a Yelp review axe to grind. Streisand Effect. Companies that can't afford to spend the time/money to BE right, and document it appropriately, tend NOT to be right. Big, oafish, cultish companies even worse so. And they tend to follow with authoritarianism as cover. "It cannot be appealed."

Sounds like you just hate Apple, love the nicknames and the extreme analogies. Guess we should give your arguments less credit then.

 

[Elian_Gonzalez]

That is the particularly BS part of all this. Third Reich much?

Yes, it is *exactly* like the Third Reich.

 

[randyhudson]

Why is it not optional?

Once you have iOS 9, then upgrading to iOS 10 is no longer optional. You are constantly nagged with popups to install the update, and you're forced to forfeit 1.2GB of your storage. Even if you manually delete the update, it will be downloaded over and over.

I recently bought an iPad Pro, and it worked fine for several weeks. Now I see constant popups about iOS 10. This is a regression in function, and I have an appointment at the Apple store to see if they can resolve the issue (WITHOUT upgrading to iOS 10). If not, I'll be asking for a refund. They can't force customers to "trade in" the product they originally purchased for one that they consider to be better.

 

[Solomani]

Fake reviews are definitely a rampant problem on the App Store, although I cannot vouch if this Dash app developer was complicit of conspiring to have fake reviews, as I never used Dash.

But I can vouch that many other paid apps do indeed attract tons of faked reviews.

 

[ElRojito]

Once you have iOS 9, then upgrading to iOS 10 is no longer optional. You are constantly nagged with popups to install the update, and you're forced to forfeit 1.2GB of your storage. Even if you manually delete the update, it will be downloaded over and over.

I recently bought an iPad Pro, and it worked fine for several weeks. Now I see constant popups about iOS 10. This is a regression in function, and I have an appointment at the Apple store to see if they can resolve the issue (WITHOUT upgrading to iOS 10). If not, I'll be asking for a refund. They can't force customers to "trade in" the product they originally purchased for one that they consider to be better.

Good idea. Go ask a retail level employee to fix your "issue" that happens systemwide. I bet right after he's done chatting with you he'll go right to the source code to spruce some things up for you.

 

[Seoras]

This scared the **** out of me. I live off my App's. I feel like a Thunder God worshipping pagan who's now just seen some other devotee being struck by lighting and left wondering if I'm next

Thinking it through rationally though I take comfort from these thoughts.

1) Apple works hard, unlike Google with Android, to foster an excellent relationship with developers. Apple knows that if they go on an account deleting rampage it will have dire effects on the app developer eco-system. Ever been in a company that has laid off people? Culture, good will and a desire to work together disappear and politics and back stabbing replace it. I'd rather leave than remain in such a situation.

2) Given that this is an App that's very visible in the developer community it's likely to be someone being made an example of as a warning to others. I don't think, looking at the evidence that it was just "buying fake reviews". It would be something much worse than that. Apple won't say because they can't for many reasons.

Still I'm wary of any passing thunder clouds and I'm sure developers will be from now on... That is probably what they wanted to achieve.

 

[AxoNeuron]

Apple's kafkaesque communication to developers remains one of its biggest problems.
[doublepost=1475777722][/doublepost]

Especially when we're talking about developer livelihoods.

Seriously. Apple's developer communication really really sucks. It's ridiculous that they just randomly pulled this guys app. He obviously wasn't paying people in Bangladesh to review his app.

 

[The Mad Mule]

This scared the **** out of me. I live off my App's. I feel like a Thunder God worshipping pagan who's now just seen some other devotee being struck by lighting and left wondering if I'm next

Thinking it through rationally though I take comfort from these thoughts.

1) Apple works hard, unlike Google with Android, to foster an excellent relationship with developers. Apple knows that if they go on an account deleting rampage it will have dire effects on the app developer eco-system. Ever been in a company that has laid off people? Culture, good will and a desire to work together disappear and politics and back stabbing replace it. I'd rather leave than remain in such a situation.

2) Given that this is an App that's very visible in the developer community it's likely to be someone being made an example of as a warning to others. I don't think, looking at the evidence that it was just "buying fake reviews". It would be something much worse than that. Apple won't say because they can't for many reasons.

Still I'm wary of any passing thunder clouds and I'm sure developers will be from now on... That is probably what they wanted to achieve.

Hey man, you have a bit of brown on your nose there.

 

[AxoNeuron]

Once you have iOS 9, then upgrading to iOS 10 is no longer optional. You are constantly nagged with popups to install the update, and you're forced to forfeit 1.2GB of your storage. Even if you manually delete the update, it will be downloaded over and over.

I recently bought an iPad Pro, and it worked fine for several weeks. Now I see constant popups about iOS 10. This is a regression in function, and I have an appointment at the Apple store to see if they can resolve the issue (WITHOUT upgrading to iOS 10). If not, I'll be asking for a refund. They can't force customers to "trade in" the product they originally purchased for one that they consider to be better.

Speaking as someone who used to have to deal with customers like you...please...just stop. If you disagree with Apple's behavior, then write them a letter. But don't go down to an Apple Store and waste some poor retail employee's time with your ridiculous first-world problem. It's not like the retail employee personally loaded iOS 10 on to your device just to screw with you.

 

[KenRoe]

There may well be privacy issues with Apple making details of the evidence public. It would not surprise me if Bogdan Popescu paid for some reviews and was warned in the past. Right now, it is very difficult for even a good app to be noticed in the app store. It might be nice if Apple could tell us if they gave the developer some warnings before pulling the app.

However, I also think Apple may need to restore the app. There may be other ways to penalize the developer. For example, it might be better to artificially lower that developer's rankings in search results and ban the developer from showing up in any of the top 200 charts maintained in the app store.

- Ken

 

[C DM]

Once you have iOS 9, then upgrading to iOS 10 is no longer optional. You are constantly nagged with popups to install the update, and you're forced to forfeit 1.2GB of your storage. Even if you manually delete the update, it will be downloaded over and over.

I recently bought an iPad Pro, and it worked fine for several weeks. Now I see constant popups about iOS 10. This is a regression in function, and I have an appointment at the Apple store to see if they can resolve the issue (WITHOUT upgrading to iOS 10). If not, I'll be asking for a refund. They can't force customers to "trade in" the product they originally purchased for one that they consider to be better.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/way-to-block-ios-10-from-downloading.2002557/

 

[Krizoitz]

Seriously. Apple's developer communication really really sucks. It's ridiculous that they just randomly pulled this guys app. He obviously wasn't paying people in Bangladesh to review his app.

Its ridiculous that you assume they just randomly pulled this guys app. Is it possible? Yes. Its also possible the developer isn't telling the whole story, because the whole story could well be he was doing something wrong and got caught doing it. You're assertion otherwise without any proof about it one way or the other is not going to convince anyone, nor should it. We know a limited amount of what happened, everything else is simply rampant speculation.

 

[jujufreeze]

It would not surprise me if Bogdan Popescu paid for some reviews and was warned in the past

"Apple contacted me and told me they found evidence of App Store review manipulation. This is something I’ve never done."- Bogdan Popescu

 

[C DM]

"Apple contacted me and told me they found evidence of App Store review manipulation. This is something I’ve never done."- Bogdan Popescu

At the same time that on its own doesn't necessarily mean that's the truth.

 

[jujufreeze]

At the same time that on its own doesn't necessarily mean that's the truth.

Assume guilt before innocence?

 

[CarlJ]

This one has me quite perplexed - I have used Dash quite a bit, it's a great app for programmers, and the developer seems quite upstanding. Moreover, it's got such a good reputation, there simply seems no need for this kind of ballot box stuffing. It does seem like there's a good avenue there for DoSing your rival, but I haven't heard of any rivals around to do that (if one appears in the next few months, they will need some careful examining). Or, heck, it could be a disgruntled paperboy. The quote from Phil Schiller about "looking into it" doesn't sound like he went any further than asking someone on staff what the story is... I hope they dig into this and find some other explanation, rather than just casting off a good developer with a great app that is helpful to their other developers.

What do you think the odds are that someone paid for a bunch of fake reviews for some other app of their own, and the folks they contracted with targeted the wrong app?

 

[macsforme]

Mathew Eis (http://eisbox.net) is a respected software developer... please spell his name correctly, MacRumors.

 

[C DM]

Assume guilt before innocence?

Not sure where that came into play. If anything, simply don't assume anything one way or another.

 

[citysnaps]

What bothers me about this is Apple's stance as judge, jury and executioner. Even if the developer is guilty is a permanent ban the appropriate sentence? It's hard to know because it's a secret court and the evidence is never tabled. What if it was only one or two reviews that didn't effectively game the system?

I'm torn because I believe Apple has detected something suspicious but without seeing the evidence I believe the developer is entitled to the benefit of the doubt regarding the seriousness of the crime.

Closed systems give a little too much power to Apple. I can certainly see Apple pushing to lock down macOS further in this regard.

"What bothers me about this is Apple's stance as judge, jury and executioner."

It is Apple's app store and developers agree to Apple's terms and conditions, which have consequences should they be violated.
.

"Even if the developer is guilty is a permanent ban the appropriate sentence?"

If a bank (or other company) is guilty of "repeated fraud" with respect to your bank account or credit card, would you sever the relationship with your bank (or other company) permanently? Or would you give them a few more chances?

 

[AxoNeuron]

Its ridiculous that you assume they just randomly pulled this guys app. Is it possible? Yes. Its also possible the developer isn't telling the whole story, because the whole story could well be he was doing something wrong and got caught doing it. You're assertion otherwise without any proof about it one way or the other is not going to convince anyone, nor should it. We know a limited amount of what happened, everything else is simply rampant speculation.

Obviously they pulled it for a reason. But they give absolutely ZERO further information to developers beyond some vague claim. And there is no appeal process. That's ridiculous.

If a competitor paid a click farm to review your app, you'd get summarily pulled from the App Store with NO recourse. That's unbelievable.

While it's never happened to me, I've put enough work in to my apps that it offends my sensibilities that Apple would offer so little recourse to the developers who make iOS worthwhile. Without us, no one would ever buy an iPhone. Apple should respect that a little bit more because a lot of us are fed up with Apple's awful developer relations.

 

[macsrcool1234]

Astonished some people think that repeated fraud is OK and that Apple should be OK with that on their app store as well.

Prove it.

What's that? You can't? Ok.

 

[Seoras]

Prove it.

What's that? You can't? Ok.

How can he? Apple won't disclose the details. Nor should they, it's a private matter.
Besides if Apple, or anyone else, where to disclose how this developer was found out and sanctioned then it would reveal their checking practises and methods. That in itself allows further gaming of the system.
Try applying your brain before you lash out at others.
[doublepost=1475816498][/doublepost]

Hey man, you have a bit of brown on your nose there.

Which part of my post made you think I was brown nosing?
The bit about google not caring?
Do you write any apps yourself? I'm guessing not, just mouthing off about something you know nothing about.
I ported one of my Apps to Android last month and was shocked and dismayed at how truly awful Android Studio is coming from Xcode.
The worst part has to be the out of date documentation that Google provides on line.
You copy their code example into Studio and hit compile and it doesn't.
You search the android dev forums and find that the example code isn't just deprecated, it's dead.
You apply the patches from said forums and the "example" code works.
Oh how I relished returning to work on Xcode after that. I dread doing another port.

 

[andybow]

Speaking as someone who used to have to deal with customers like you...please...just stop. If you disagree with Apple's behavior, then write them a letter. But don't go down to an Apple Store and waste some poor retail employee's time with your ridiculous first-world problem. It's not like the retail employee personally loaded iOS 10 on to your device just to screw with you.

Agreed and what a problem, they want to update and improve your software for free, real issue.
[doublepost=1475820796][/doublepost]

See, I personally think Phil Schiller is a moron. He's said things that are just so absolutely ridiculous in public, that I just assume everything he says is 100% Pro Apple and probably nonsense. And he's DEFINITELY one of the contingent at Apple that believes the Reality Distortion Field is real, and works all the time. So I have little doubt that he'd think he could say whatever he wanted, it would feed the fanboys, and bury the problem. And out came those fanboys. Huh. Interesting. Any other developer, who wasn't known in the community, that might have been successful.


Because for a company with $220 Billion with a B in the bank, I expect a bit more of a response than a Phil Schiller "I looked into it, trust me" email. That reflects cult leader behavior. Apple PR should have been able to respond to this before Phil the Shill; they didn't, he did. Dismissively. The dev made claims, it –should be– fairly trivial for Apple to publicly refute them with detail. Apple wants to make sure review fraud doesn't happen? Make the indictment waterproof. But Apple didn't decide to go that way. Instead, they are vague, opaque, and respond like a bad neighborhood restaurant with a Yelp review axe to grind. Streisand Effect. Companies that can't afford to spend the time/money to BE right, and document it appropriately, tend NOT to be right. Big, oafish, cultish companies even worse so. And they tend to follow with authoritarianism as cover. "It cannot be appealed."

At the end of the day Apple dont have to prove it, they own the system... anyhow they have accused him of fraud so he can sue if he believes they dont have a case, it appears this would be easy as anything in US of A
[doublepost=1475820944][/doublepost]

Obviously they pulled it for a reason. But they give absolutely ZERO further information to developers beyond some vague claim. And there is no appeal process. That's ridiculous.

If a competitor paid a click farm to review your app, you'd get summarily pulled from the App Store with NO recourse. That's unbelievable.

While it's never happened to me, I've put enough work in to my apps that it offends my sensibilities that Apple would offer so little recourse to the developers who make iOS worthwhile. Without us, no one would ever buy an iPhone. Apple should respect that a little bit more because a lot of us are fed up with Apple's awful developer relations.

Again why is Apple the one having to do anything, they have withdrawn the keys to their store, sorry if I own a company I get to choose who comes in?, so in this case the Developer has civil options open to him

 

[Nefilim]

With Sierra it's obvious Apple's heading there. I wouldn't dare leaving tho, rather simply not upgrading to newer macOS versions.

What is different in Sierra that makes you feel that way?
[doublepost=1475821729][/doublepost]

This sucks, Apple!

You could be right, but I'd like to know the details before determining who is to blame.

 

[Markoth]

Oh good grief. Could you be any more insulting to Jewish people who died by comparing what happened to them to not being able to sell something in an app store?

The reality is, a lot of Jews are completely used to antisemitism, since it's so common, and we just don't care anymore. Kinda sad, I guess, but that's how it is.

Although, I must admit that I enjoy messing with antisemites on the internet, so I suppose it isn't all bad.