William Gallagher
Years after quietly removing the ability for users to report App Store problems such as scam apps, Apple has equally quietly brought it back — with some improvements.
Previously, if users bought an app from the App Store and it scammed them in some way, they had a way to immediately tell Apple. It didn't necessarily offer an redress, but it was a way to report that there was an issue.
Apple removed this feature some years ago, but as of this writing, it is beginning to reappear on the App Store. The new "Report a Problem" feature is initially limited to the US, and it may also be taking time to propagate to all users, and all apps.
Where available, though, "Report a Problem" is an option in every app's description. It's listed in the Information section, alongside details such as age rating, category and so on.
When selected, the feature leads to a similar system as before, but with one important extra. There is now the ability to specifically mark an app as being "Scam or Fraud."
Plus it appears that it's now possible for a user to report such an app without having been defrauded. Users cannot report an app they have not installed, but they now can report it without having also had to buy any in-app purchases.
So Apple is protecting app developers from malicious or mistaken tagging as scams, but it's also allowing people to report what they find.
Apple's reintroduction of the feature follows very many reports of so-called "fleeceware," apps which offer free trials and then very high subscriptions. They make money by people forgetting they have to unsubscribe before the end of the trial period.
It's a profitable enough scam that reportedly more than $400 million has been made by these apps.
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5 Comments
Haleluja Apple
There’s an app called WikiMapia that’s been a bane of my existence. I’ve deleted it many times, but nearly every time App Store is used, it respawns and shows a dialogue demanding it needs to be updated. The point is that I’m in the States and I don’t yet see this option on this app’s product page
I was looking for that a few weeks ago. Good to have it back as the only way we’ll cull the store of Trojans is to report them.
Here’s hoping it’s part of an initiative to improve app quality. Apple could also add 1st party framework usage rating and 3rd party framework usage warnings for (Xamarin, react native etc.) after all, we buy an iPhone because it’s an iPhone and software which ignores that should be ‘outed’.
I hope that Apple will objectively evaluate user reports and take appropriate action.
Last week when I upgraded my iPhone, the version of PocketMoney I had on my old device was replaced by the version that is currently available on the App Store, a thing I did NOT want. This has garbled years of financial data!
This current version of PocketMoney is a clone of iCompta 6, an App that remains available in the App Store. The developer of iCompta has publically acknowledged that he sold the source code to the new owner of PocketMoney.
PocketMoney was acquired by an Italian "wealth manager" after its developer passed away, apparently with the intention of monetizing it using the goodwill built over the years (started as an Apple Newton App). To add insult to injury the new owner refuses to allow long-time users access to the previous version of the App thay have paid for.
I have reported the above as a Scam/Fraud & encourage other long-time PocketMoney users to do the same.
Let us put the ball in Apple's court & see if they are really ready to play the game (of taking down App Store violaters).