Phil Schiller on App Store Knockoffs in 2012: ‘Is No One Reviewing These Apps?’

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Knockoff apps have actually long been a problem in the App Store, with rip-off apps sneaking past customers to complete with authentic apps and take sales, and back in 2012, Apples Phil Schiller was definitely furious when a phony app made it to the top of the App Store rankings, according to documents shared in the Epic v. Apple trial.
At the time, Temple Run was an extremely popular iOS special title, and in February 2012, a fake version of Temple Run struck the App Store charts. Schiller sent out an e-mail to Eddy Cue, Greg Joswiak, Ron Okamoto, Phillip Shoemaker, Matt Fischer, Kevin Saul, and others on the App Store team.
” Is nobody evaluating these apps? Is no one minding the shop?” he ranted on, prior to asking whether individuals remembered a talk about ending up being the “Nordstrom” of App Stores in quality of service.

…” and PLEASE establish a system to immediately discover low rated apps and purge them !!” pic.twitter.com/fhFvja7vXs
— Jacob Terry (@jerkob) May 5, 2021
Scam iOS apps that defraud users and imitate real apps continue to be a problem to this day. In current months, developer Kosta Eleftheriou has taken to speaking up versus scam apps and highlighting notable rip-offs in the App Store, bringing additional attention to the problem.

At the time, Temple Run was a very popular iOS special title, and in February 2012, a fake version of Temple Run hit the App Store charts. Schiller sent out an email to Eddy Cue, Greg Joswiak, Ron Okamoto, Phillip Shoemaker, Matt Fischer, Kevin Saul, and others on the App Store group. “How does an obvious rip off of the very popular Temple Run, with no screenshots, trash marketing text, and practically all 1-star ratings end up being the # 1 complimentary app on the store?”
Phil Schiller in 2012, after a rip-off app hit # 1: “What the hell is this?????
… Is no one reviewing these Apps?

Phil Schiller in 2012, after a rip-off app hit # 1: “What the hell is this?????
… Is nobody reviewing these Apps? Is nobody minding the store?” pic.twitter.com/pNaozl6hv1
— Patrick McGee (@PatrickMcGee_) May 3, 2021
Since that 2012 rant, App Store reviewers have continued to fight with knockoff apps that mimic real apps. A second file highlighted Minecraft knockoffs that had actually made it into the App Store not once, however two times, and was eating up Minecraft sales, and in a 3rd 2015 document, Schiller comments that he “cant believe” that Apple doesnt have automated tools to discover and kick out fraud apps.