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Apple’s walled garden, curated approach to the App Store improves quality control — but it doesn’t filter out all of the spammy, scammy content. According to a report by the Washington Post, scam apps represent close to 2 percent of the App Store’s top grossing apps.
While that might not sound all that much, it’s a sizable amount when you consider that the App Store has in the region of 1.8 million apps. These scam apps have reportedly cost users in the vicinity of $48 million.
What constitutes a scam app varies. In one case, it refers to a QR code reaper app which charges $20 per month for functionality that is carried out for free by the iPhone’s Camera app. Some apps claim that they are official apps from companies like Samsung and Amazon. In reality, they are nothing of the kind. Yet others, the report notes, get users to download and pay for them after the user receives a fake message online telling them that their iPhone has been infected by a virus.
The curated App Store
Apple CEO Tim Cook has often talked about Apple’s curated approach to the App Store as being a key differentiator when it comes to quality control. Losing the ability to control what was on iPhones was one of former CEO Steve Jobs’ main objections to launching an App Store in the early days of the iPhone. He finally changed his mind after realizing what a big money-spinner it could be for Apple. Last year, Tim Cook said that:
“Curation has always been one of the App Store’s chief features and sources of value for our users. We held a quality department store as a model: place where customers can find a great variety of options, but can feel confident that the selection is high-quality, reliable and current.”
This may well be true. However, as today’s report makes clear, there’s still a bit more work to be done. One of the big challenges for Apple, ultimately, is the same problem big social media giants face when it comes to policing content: Lack of people. As my colleague Ed Hardy argued recently, Apple could be well served to bolster its App Store review team. As the App Store continues to get bigger and more relied-upon, this issue is only going to become more pressing.
Have you had similar experiences of the App Store? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Washington Post
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