Isn’t this the crap Apple are supposed to be protecting us from via their walled garden?
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Sketchy ChatGPT App Soars Up App Store Charts, Charges $7.99 Weekly Subscription [Update: Removed]
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Apple make money from scam apps for as long as they can, then they play "good guy" by removing them. All the while keeping the money they made.
Wouldn't it be nice if they returned that money to the customers that paid and donated the 30% they made to charity.
Wouldn't it be nice if they returned that money to the customers that paid and donated the 30% they made to charity.
I wish Macrumors would just remove “sketchy” from the vocab list, I swear it’s in the top ten most commonly used words for headlines here, lol.
The challenge Apple faces here has always been in making the call as to whether a developer simply chooses to price an app the way he does, or if it's an outright scam. Which is basically what the members here are calling on Apple to do - dictate what developers can and cannot charge in the App Store. While at the same lambasting Apple for presumably wielding too much power in the App Store.
Right now there is a choice of closed system and open system. I no longer have that choice if iOS is forced to open up. Choice works both ways, you can choose to just get an Android and download any app you desire outside of the Play store.
Its using the OpenAI APIs which DOES cost money so they need to make up the money from a subscription.
Of course you have a choice. You can continue to use iOS with just the Apple App Store and maintain your closed system. Nothing changes. Allowing other users to install apps or alternate app stores does not compromise your device.
I'm curious, why do you feel Apple is entitled to tell its paying adult customers what they can and can't install on their phones? Would you defend a car company that prevented a car from operating in the "bad" parts of town too? Why should any corporation have this kind of control over our lives?
Bottom line...If you don't install apps from sources other than the App Store, your device remains closed and you maintain the exact same level of control you have today.
As I said, i've got no issue with the subscription charge just that they are clearly trying to pass it off as an OpenAI product by using their name and logo.
Hmm…it seems people just want Apple to do their job and make sure scammy apps don’t get past app review and make it into the App Store. I think any app that wants to charge a subscription, especially if it’s weekly, should automatically be flagged for human review.
How do you manage to spin every situation to make the worlds richest corporation the victim?
They have absolutely no problem whatsoever rejecting multiple submissions to the app store their competitors. Funny that..
App review is a constantly evolving process of whack a mole. Finding a bad app just means that more curation is needed, not that Apple isn’t doing their job.
App Store stopped nearly $1.5 billion in fraudulent transactions in 2021
App Store prevented over 1.6 million risky and untrustworthy apps and app updates from defrauding users throughout the year.
www.apple.com
Articles like this tell only side of the story. I am not saying that Apple’s app review process is perfect, but I disagree that Apple is closing an eye here just to juice their subscription revenue numbers. Else, they wouldn’t have made it so easy for consumers to terminate their subscriptions directly within the App Store (compared to how hard it is to do so with the Wall Street journal, for instance).
Finally, it’s not always so easy to quantity what a “scam” app necessarily entails. Am I running a scam if I create a notes app and charge $100 a year for it?
Doing away with weekly subscriptions sounds like one easy way, but you are also telling Apple to basically not allow weekly subscriptions at all (ie: dictating what developers can and cannot do).
On a tangential note, this is also why I am not in favour of sideloading or third party app stores. There continue to be numerous examples of such cases even after Apple’s efforts at curation and people expect the situation to magically just improve / disappear once people are allowed to install their own apps from outside sources, or that companies like Epic will do a better job somehow?
It’s not about making Apple into the victim. Hate on them all you want. At least hate right.
well, most app makers are doing this as well. In fact, they causing people's accounts to be banned from adding comments if they feel it does give their app a good call. Not only this company but many other companies as well.
Because “sketchy” here is as defined by Macrumours?
And besides, what defines “sketchy”?
I do not see the problem with this, a lot of people use other services and just forwards the cost to you. Its not necessarily a scam its just there is other ways to get it for free. Note that free chatgpt is US only so if this app lets you use chatgpt outside of USA for money it has value
What's the issue? Making money easily? Someone butt hurt for not developing it sooner? If it says, "official ChatGPT app" or "from OpenAI" then there is a problem. The dev is using the API and he's naming the app "ChatGPT Chat GPT AI With GPT-3. He's using the API so it really is "with GPT-3".
Just a quick swipe through the instadds and you’ll see games that promise great graphics you get suckered into downloading it and all of the sudden it’s asking for your location information for a game! I think apple needs to put a foot down and say no more crap apps but if they make the shareholder a few more $$ who’s really gonna care. Searching the internet or even the App Store is exhausting. I hate to sound old but I want back the old internet that was 20% ads and 80% content. Now it’s 99% ads and 1% content with some weird video playing in the background stuck behind a screen I can’t close because I can’t find the x.
I do believe quite a few posters on here are already AI generated. 🤣
So at least some 'intelligence' is coming in the future - even though its artificial (y)
ChatGTP isn't free to use. You sign up and get a bucket of units you can use then have to pay.
This developer is likely using his own api key and purchased a large bucket and offsetting his costs with the 7.99/week trying to make a few bucks without have the user sign up to chatgtp.
Not saying you should buy the sub but it's no different than weather app devs.
This developer is likely using his own api key and purchased a large bucket and offsetting his costs with the 7.99/week trying to make a few bucks without have the user sign up to chatgtp.
Not saying you should buy the sub but it's no different than weather app devs.