" But I like Apple's walled garden because they verify and quality check everything on there "
Hits extra close to home when Apple enforces some arbitrary rule for one app (like Amphetamine) and then doesn't even bother to test other apps.
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Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
51–60 of 335 posts
Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
#52I think it's time for freelance developers to behave like companies. Write big tech support once, wait a week and if the issue isn't solved, contact a lawyer and let them handle it. Otherwise you will be eternally bouncing around customer support departments until you write a tweet in the hope of getting noticed by somebody afraid of a PR disaster.
What freelance developer has the time and mental energy to deal with a lawyer every time they have to contact support?
Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
#53Unfortunate, but in the end it is Apple's platform and they have the right to allow anybody they see fit. I'm sure Apple will earn more from the scam app than the real one, since the scam has an exorbitant weekly subscription, so I can see Apple's incentive. If the OP doesn't like it he can make his own Iphone/iwatch with it's own app store and sell billions of phones and watches. Then use those to distribute his app…
> they have the right to allow anybody they see fit
Within the limits of the law, and I'm not so sure that these scam apps are in most jurisdictions. I'm actually reasonably sure they're not.
Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
#54FYI, in situations like this the best way is to: 1. Register your videos and images with the USCO. It'll cost 2. You can now file DMCA takedowns. Send one to Apple with the USCO registration ID and a copy of the image and a link to the app in question. 3. Apple will either immediately remove that fake app, or be liable for up to $350k in punitive damages for wilful infringement and lose all DMCA protection. 4. If App…
Some people want to create great, useful apps. That's what they want to do. They are willing to give away half of their earnings to different 3rd parties to just not deal with the bullshit. It's unlikely to be their full time job. They probably don't make that much money on it, cloning happens just when the app begins to make any reasonable profit. So dealing with all your described is just not practical. Time is val…
> App stores can't spend too many hours on each app because there's tons of them,
In this specific case it seems they didn't even spend one minute, since the app is not working. If at Apple they don't have the resource to at least try to open every app (I doubt it, they are swimming in cash), they could at least find a way to decide which apps to test first, like complaints from other developers, reviews telling that the app is a scam etc.
Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
#55Unfortunate, but in the end it is Apple's platform and they have the right to allow anybody they see fit. I'm sure Apple will earn more from the scam app than the real one, since the scam has an exorbitant weekly subscription, so I can see Apple's incentive. If the OP doesn't like it he can make his own Iphone/iwatch with it's own app store and sell billions of phones and watches. Then use those to distribute his app…
> they have the right to allow anybody they see fit Within the limits of the law, and I'm not so sure that these scam apps are in most jurisdictions. I'm actually reasonably sure they're not.
Why? If an app scams users, is Apple going to be liable for that?
Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
#56This guy's business was doomed from the start in more than one way. E.g. nothing would stop Apple from copying the idea in the next version of the watch. The idea is simply too generic. And it's a feature, not a product.
I agree, many app makers don't seem to realize that any long-term sustainable software needs to be based on deep know-how (or: tons of features and a strong lead), something that cannot be easily copied. Otherwise it will be copied a thousand times anyway. Some of the copy-cats will have strong financial backing, others will be students in a poor country with almost unlimited time and extremely low costs, and yet others will have extreme marketing skills and channels.
That's not to say you cannot make money with trivial ideas. It just seems obvious to me that such apps cannot last very long and you have to go with quantity instead of quality in that case.
Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
#57Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
#58Meanwhile Apple block our iOS app update because we dare mentioning Android somewhere.
In our case it's because an android phone in an image in a webview somewhere. They're incredibly strict with this rule.
Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
> they have the right to allow anybody they see fit Within the limits of the law, and I'm not so sure that these scam apps are in most jurisdictions. I'm actually reasonably sure they're not.
Why? If an app scams users, is Apple going to be liable for that?
If they don't take reasonable action on complaints, then yes, of course. Why do you think YouTube etc. are so trigger-happy with DMCA complaints? Exactly to avoid these kind of liability issues.
Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers
#60Oh my god, they don't even bother implementing the app any more... It reminds me of my first App Store experience. I made an app that was somewhat successful (about 2000€ a month, enough to pay for a students living expenses). Within short time, a chinese speaking developer cloned it. They copied the icon (slighlty different color), they copied the UI, they even copied all the text in the dialog boxes. They released…
Fortunately making an app that does the same thing as an existing app isn't copyright infringement - that would be far worse than the Amazon "one click" patent, as there would only be one company allowed to make a web browser, word processor, spreadsheet, etc.
Copying texts is potentially copyright infringement, though.