Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said in the latest Epic study that the App Store would be a “toxic mess” without the company’s rigorous review process. However, its approval process apparently still allowed a significant number of bad apps through. Of the 1,000 top-selling apps in the store, nearly two percent were some form of fraud, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Some of the malicious apps cited contained VPNs that falsely told users that they were infected with a virus, thereby luring them into buying unnecessary software. Dating apps, QR readers, and apps that fraudulently claimed to be from big brands like Amazon or Samsung were also on the list. Some used fake customer reviews to climb the App Store rankings.
The apps could have defrauded users by an estimated $ 48 million, including Apple’s cut of up to 30 percent, according to Post estimates. Apple reportedly removed 12 of the 18 apps after they were tagged.
“We keep developers to high standards so that the App Store is a safe and trustworthy place for customers to download software, and we will always take action against apps that harm users,” Apple spokesman Fred Sainz told the post in a Explanation. “Apple leads the industry in practices that put our customers’ safety first, and we will continue to learn, develop our practices and invest the resources necessary to ensure that customers have the best experience.”
Apple recently said it blocked $ 1.5 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions in the last year alone, adding that scams are usually exposed within a month of arriving at the store. However, during the recent trial, Epic accused Apple of using security as an excuse to charge up to a 30 percent fee on transactions.
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