Jeff Johnson, developer of the popular StopTheMadness Safari extension , has said that “obvious” App Store ratings fraud is going undetected by Apple despite the company’s claims to review listings.
Why It Matters
Since launching in 2008, the App Store has been a safe and trusted place for users and a vibrant marketplace for developers to grow their businesses around the world. In the last five years, the App Store has protected users by preventing over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions, including over $2 billion in 2024 alone, according to Apple’s annual App Store fraud analysis. Apple claims that its App Store protects users from dishonest developers. If App Store review is not doing this work, then what the hell are they doing? Practically speaking, App Store review didn’t even need to go as far down the rabbit hole as I did. Apple has a record of all the ratings and reviews in all the countries, so they know this is false advertising. I didn’t have to download the damn app to know already that the developer is attempting fraud.
The “4.9 out of 5” stars in the App Store screenshot should have been a red flag.
