Sketchy ChatGPT App Soars Up App Store Charts, Charges $7.99 Weekly Subscription [Update: Removed]

[ackmondual]

I'm not sure why people would expect Apple to reject this app? 30% of $8/week can add up over time. And Apple isn't a charity.

Yep. Same reason why they're not going to do away with many of the shady practices in the iOS gaming sphere. Sure, they have Apple Arcade, but that only goes so far. They're walking away from too much $$ otherwise.

 

[Supercyborgninja]

No way you guys advertised Austen Allred...a guy who LITERALLY grifted people with Lambda School SO badly he changed the name to Bloomtech(I think) to continue his grift. Shameful.

 

[deevey]

The app has a title that would lead the average user to believe it was released by the OpenAI team rather than some small developer trying to take advantage of unsuspecting users. That's an obvious attempt at deception that should most definitely violate any app stores policies. I think this clearly illustrates that app store policies are in place to protect Apple profits more than users.

If any kind of infringement was flagged by the OpenAI team, absolutely.

As noted above though they are already getting paid by the developers anyhow.

Today I did a search and there is a ton of other apps using Chat GPT / OpenAI in the name. Unless the OpenAI team release an official app themselves, or start issuing takedown notices, personally I'd say using it in a title is fair game at this point.

Using the logo however is unforgivable, but again, thats a ball thats out of Apples court and should be addressed via OpenAI's lawyers. Are Apple supposed to magically know the name and logo of every company in the world and compare them during the review process?

 

[Ethosik]

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.

You just countered it before. I will NOT have a choice while continuing to use Facebook.

 

[JamesHolden]

You just countered it before. I will NOT have a choice while continuing to use Facebook.

You're not entitled to use Facebook. You do have a choice. Download it from Facebook's app store or don't use it. The way I see it, the walled garden defenders are extremely entitled. I have yet to see an explanation of how third party app stores will weaken iOS security. The only argument seems to boil down to "I want it my way." That's it. Entitled. And let's be real, if you're using Facebook in the first place, you don't care about privacy, security, or any of that stuff.

You can stay in the walled garden and let Apple nanny you. Your illusion of security and privacy remains in tact. If an app you use leaves the App Store, you can choose to continue using it or you can use something else. Walled garden defenders don't care about other people's (ie: developers) right to "choice", only their own. It's such an entitled point of view.

 

[NEPOBABY]

How Apple is allowing these apps on the App Store is shocking to me

Because so many apps get submitted and as long as it doesn’t flag malware they mostly go through, maybe automated procedure.

Microsoft and Android’s stores are a such an eye sore I sometimes can’t tell if an app is official or not. Copycat apps is how a lot of malware gets on Android devices.

Scam apps that go through are then needed to be flagged later by an employee or the public, as it happened this time and other times.

Some of these apps clearly use wording to bypass systems and game search results. The worst offenders are the ones that are being used for money laundering. They’ll publish the app from one country and then in another country they will have a network of mules purchase the overpriced app or subscription. Everything looks harmless on the surface until you look at the app and wonder ‘Why would anyone pay so much for this?’

Always raise attention to anything dodgy you see because it looks like companies just can’t do it alone with the number of apps that are submitted.

 

[teo1113]

And they are back to normal business : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chatgpt-chat-gpt-ai-with-gpt-3/id1659730883

 

[postedalready]

You know it's a problem when I thought this entire thread was about a slightly different GPT wrapper even after seeing the originally linked app on the app store. The number of apps taking advantage of the GPT storm are is unbelievable.

The fact that these wrappers exist isn't shocking to me, and I'm not sure they're inherently bad. But when GPT-4 from OpenAI is $20/month and some apps that claim to be "powered by GPT4" are LESS expensive, I get a bad feeling.

 

[deevey]

You know it's a problem when I thought this entire thread was about a slightly different GPT wrapper even after seeing the originally linked app on the app store. The number of apps taking advantage of the GPT storm are is unbelievable.
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The fact that these wrappers exist isn't shocking to me, and I'm not sure they're inherently bad. But when GPT-4 from OpenAI is $20/month and some apps that claim to be "powered by GPT4" are LESS expensive, I get a bad feeling.

The API cost to set up your own chat GPT site can be a whole lot lower than the $20 a month OpenAI charge.

I'd assume most folk using an app are casual users that are unlikley to use up alot of the quota, so there's money to be made re-selling the service and packaging your own product with preset queries, better interface etc...