{"id":42646,"date":"2024-03-26T16:17:36","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T20:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=42646"},"modified":"2024-04-30T15:46:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T19:46:53","slug":"movie-piracy-app-tops-app-store-charts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/03\/26\/movie-piracy-app-tops-app-store-charts\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Piracy App Tops App Store Charts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joshua Long<\/a>:<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, [March] 12, a researcher named Kedsayahm<\/a> noticed that an app that featured pirated TV shows and movies was quickly climbing the charts in the App Store. The app was already #1 in the Entertainment category in Egypt at the time, and in the top 10 for Entertainment in at least three other countries: Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Germany. It was also #21 in the Entertainment category in the United States, and #170 in the Top Free in the U.S. as well.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

By [March] 14, the app had reached astounding highs: #2 in the Entertainment category in the U.S., and #18 in the overall Top Free list in the U.S., in the iOS App Store. This is especially surprising considering that the app’s name, tagline, icon, and screenshots were all in Arabic—even in the English-language U.S. App Store.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

But another concerning aspect of the story is that the app included in-app purchases: $5.99 to supposedly remove ads (no ads were visible in the researcher’s screen recording), and 99¢ to “tip” the developer.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

Also last week, there was yet another fake cryptocurrency app in the App Store. It seems to have first been reported on publicly<\/a> on May 11, a day before the piracy app was called out. This app used the logo and name of PancakeSwap, a decentralized finance (DeFi) site that doesn’t have an official app.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Luc Vandal<\/a>:<\/p>\n

In today’s “App Review is Clearly Fucked Up” news, it is now considered manipulating reviews to ask for them in the What’s new section? 🤦‍♂️<\/p>

And no, Screens doesn’t manipulate reviews; it follows the approved method of requesting reviews from users<\/a>.<\/p>

I also don’t like that they imply that we manipulate reviews. Please concentrate on actual scammers, Apple, not legit developers that have been on the App Store since its inception.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

skarh<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Got a notice two weeks ago that my app would be removed due to some screenshots that weren’t in compliance with the guidelines. Have since then uploaded a new version with screenshots that are in compliance with the guidelines, but the reviewer still decided to reject based on the same guideline.<\/p>

Wrote a reply to the reviewer 24 hours ago (10 min after the rejection), explaining that the screenshots are in compliance, but still has not gotten a reply. And today the app was removed from sale. How long should one have to wait for a reply from the reviewer?<\/p>

Have filed an appeal. but that usually takes days, and even weeks. So my app will lose all momentum on the charts!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n