Some of the Apps in the App Store
This blog post is about an app named Chatbot: Ask AI Chat Bot, subtitled “Built on ChatGPT OpenAI, GPT-4", by the developer Tuqeer Ahmad. If you’re not familiar with Tuqeer Ahmad, well… neither am I. Nonetheless, Chatbot: Ask AI Chat Bot is currently #23 top grossing in the Mac App Store and the #64 top “free” download according to AppFigures.
Believe it or not, the app is in the Education category of the Mac App Store. In fact, it’s #1 top grossing and the #3 top download in Education. (I would guess that’s because students are looking for ways to cheat on their homework, sigh.)
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The app does include IAP, and as I’ve already noted, makes a significant amount of revenue (more than my apps!), so it seems difficult to dispute that the developer is a trader. Thus, the developer’s self-assessment appears to be inaccurate and indeed illegal in the EU.
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Anyway, that’s what it takes to become one of the top grossers in the Mac App Store. On the web, I can find no media coverage, word of mouth recommendations, or even advertising for this app. Tuqeer Ahmad is effectively anonymous. And unlike the iOS App Store, the Mac App Store has no search ads. So how does this developer find customers? Honestly, I don’t know, other than stuffing the app title, subtitle, description, etc., with popular search keywords.
WTH? How does something like [BrightScreen] even make it into the Mac App Store?
You know it’s a day that ends in “y” when there’s a new App Store lawsuit. This time, the issue isn’t antitrust or developer rejection complaints, but rather a class action accusing Apple of facilitating the spread of cryptocurrency scams by allowing a fake trading app onto the App Store.
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Lead plaintiff Danyell Shin says she downloaded Swiftcrypt onto her iPhone in late 2024, after being introduced to the app through an online investment group. Believing the app was trustworthy, partly because it came from Apple’s App Store, she ended up transferring more than $80,000 into the platform. Then, the funds vanished.
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The filing paints a detailed picture of how Apple’s own rules for crypto apps, requiring licensing, regulatory compliance, and developer verification, were supposedly not enforced in this case.
Here’s an app called School Assistant that offers an IAP called “Tip Jar - $0.99” that actually costs $400. It’s been like that in the store for at least 6 months. [See the update below.]
Arin Waichulis (via Jeff Johnson):
It’s the same early-day digital scareware we’ve all seen before: “Your iPhone is infected with (310) viruses. Click here to remove them.” These pop-ups, seemingly always 280p quality and slapped together with stock graphics from a different reality, usually appear on shady websites as malicious ads or junk software, urging people to install a “fix” or be doomed. But one was recently spotted running as an ad on YouTube for a sketchy iPhone clean up app.
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It states, “Your iphone is severely damaged by (247) virus! We have detected that your iPhone has been infected with viruses. If you don’t take any action, it will soon corrupt your SIM card, data, photos and contacts.”
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From a few minutes of research, I learned the clean up application is operated by a newly formed Chinese-based company with very weak and broad privacy policies, likely created using LLMs, and ranked 50th on Top Charts in Productivity.
The App Store is also such a cesspool. I was looking for a simple solitaire game, you’d think in 2025 the App Store would make it easy to find a simple solitaire game that isn’t a 300MB app with ads, subscriptions and extremely dubious privacy labels, but apparently no…
Previously:
- Notarized Atomic Stealer (AMOS)
- Free With In-App Purchase Is a Sham
- App Store Trader Status Deadline
- The Top PDF Reader in the Mac App Store
- IAP Bait-And-Switch Apps
- The App Store Isn’t Catching the Most Egregious Scams
- Exploring the App Store’s Top Grossing Chart
Update (2025-07-21): Dylan McDonald:
This $400 IAP was NOT intentional. I have absolutely no idea how it ever got set to $400. Thankfully, as Jeff said, it was never in-use in the app. Apple altered me to the issue today and I immediately fixed the price and then removed that IAP entirely (since it wasn’t used anyways).
14 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
Apple could fix this, or at least improve it if they wanted too, but they get 30% of the take from these scams. These problems have been around for awhile, I don't expect them to improve.
Is the Google Play store better?
It’s understandable that apps like these slip through from time to time, but how does Apple not give them a more thorough review once they start appearing in top downloaded/grossing charts?
Even though it severely limits me, I consider it hardly worth considering any App Store game aside from Apple Arcade. At least then the price is knowable and constant.
@Matt
> Is the Google Play store better?
No. They're all shite.
The common meme so far though has been that Apple keep an eye on their distribution platform and prevent nonsense like those cited. Seems like that's not the case anymore.
@Torrington
> Seems like that's not the case anymore.
I have not seen any evidence that it has ever been the case.
You don't have to use the Play Store on Android. My first step is always to check F-Droid or use Obtanium.
Imagine if Apple had a system where they could press a button and prevent any software signed by a developer from running on any device. Maybe they could call it notarization.
Regarding refunds, for things that are actually fraudulent like the examples above, chargebacks exist.
@gildarts It’s dangerous to your Apple account to do a chargeback, even for actual fraud.
@Michael: I'm aware. I was responding to Someone else's sideswipe at third party app stores or sideloading. The transactions wouldn't go through your Apple account in those cases. They are implying that the situation would be far worse if Apple didn't have such a stranglehold. Heck, they might be right, but I'm not seeing evidence of that anywhere.
@ gildarts
Evidence: Look at the PC space for pirated apps and games — both are vectors for malware.
@Someone else
How much of that is signed/notarized by Microsoft? No one is saying that downloading shady things is completely safe, but Apple has built many security controls into iOS, sandboxes, notarization, etc. But your previous statement was this:
> Imagine if it was impossible to take down the download page for these apps or get refunds.
Apple can revoke the developer certs used to sign malicious software, and poof, it stops working on all iOS devices and even all Macs by default. So sure, Apple can't actually remove the website (though a government could fairly easily and would if fraud was proven), but they can stop the software from running. And as far as getting refunds, third-party transactions are no worse than the App Store and in some ways better. If the argument is that Apple cares more or does a better job than third-party app stores or developers, I'd say that is citing evidence not in the record.
So... I'm not sure what your point is.
"Look at the PC space for pirated apps and games — both are vectors for malware."
So are official stores. Everything that distributes software is a vector for malware. Personally, I trust fitgirl way more than I trust Apple.
