If you think you can trust App Store ratings, you haven’t been paying enough attention.
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) May 25, 2021
This is the iOS *system* rating prompt, not a custom look-alike one.
The worst part? This trick is EXTREMELY easy for any developer to do, and not limited to this app.
???
The review: “This app forced me to give it a good rating before I could use it.”
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) May 25, 2021
You: “Pfff, no one’s FORCING you!”
The app: ? pic.twitter.com/R6ytFAguhU
I don’t even know why this API exists in the first place. It’s user hostile even when used “correctly”: I *hate* getting this stupid pop-up when I’m using an app. Not to mention that reviews, generally speaking, are the laziest way to “outsource” curation in a store. https://t.co/CMe8FZyJkQ
— Francisco Tolmasky (@tolmasky) May 26, 2021
“Apps like the ones discovered by Eleftheriou not only harm customers”.
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) May 26, 2021
“It also harms legitimate developers who have to contend with apps that are willing to play dirty”
?https://t.co/l73pXdzKkO
“Apple users love to remind everyone, Apple has far stricter guidelines for app approval than Google does.”
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) May 26, 2021
“Well, Apple fans, this one’s for you, because it’s an iOS app and it even uses the built-in iOS review prompt to do its dastardly deed.”
?https://t.co/qRwuoU1baQ