Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters
For iPhone and iPad owners looking for software in Apple’s App Store, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of available apps. To stand out in the crowd, some app makers have apparently found ways to game the system.
On Touch Arcade, a site for iOS game developers, an independent programmer recently shared his conversation with an app promoter who promised to get his app into the store’s Top 25 most-downloaded list in exchange for $5,000. The programmer, Walter Kaman, said the promoter had hired someone to build an army of software “bots” that automatically download apps and drive up their rankings.
“As an indie developer, this totally demoralizes my passion to continue making apps for this platform, knowing that at the end of the day, all that matters is $5,000 and a bunch of bots, ” Mr. Kaman said when asked about the issue.
Apple is clearly aware of services used to game the app download charts, which are a highly visible stage for apps. The company on Monday posted a bulletin on its App Store Resource Center for developers, warning app makers that using third-party services to gain top placement in App Store charts could get them banned from the store.
“Once you build a great app, you want everyone to know about it,” the company wrote. “However, when you promote your app, you should avoid using services that advertise or guarantee top placement in App Store charts. Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership.”
Oliver Cameron, developer of the iPhone app Everyme, said he was aware of multiple services offering to promote apps by using bots to inflate download numbers. Mr. Cameron said he had not used such services to promote his apps.
“Customers lose out, because they’re not downloading a popular app, they’re downloading an app whose developer thought it best to try and game the rankings,” Mr. Cameron said.
The App Store has provided the opportunity for software makers big and small to reach an audience of millions of iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners. But as the store has grown, with over 600,000 apps to date, it has become increasingly difficult for apps to stand out among competitors and climb the charts.
John Casasanta, owner of the successful iPhone app development studio Tap Tap Tap, said the issue of developers manipulating the App Store remained largely unaddressed.
“The App Store is in dire need of reform,” Mr. Casasanta said. “But Apple has been doing the barest minimum to keep these things under control because from their perspective, there’s simply not a problem. The issue here is that things like this don’t really affect Apple’s ultimate mission for the iPhone, which is essentially to sell more and more iPhones.”
App developers have resorted to other tricks in an effort to gain exposure. Some have paid people to review their apps, while others have built copycat apps mimicking the appearance of popular titles to trick customers into thinking they are downloading the real thing.
Apple isn’t sleeping on the job. The company recently removed apps that were obvious copies of popular titles: Plant vs. Zombie, Angry Ninja Birds and Temple Jump were mimicking the best-selling games Plants vs. Zombies, Angry Birds and Temple Run, respectively.