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

Phil Schiller, 2015:
” [this rip-off app] is a terrific example of the things we ought to have automated tools to find and kick out of the store. I cant believe we still dont.” …” and PLEASE develop a system to automatically find low ranked apps and purge them !!” pic.twitter.com/fhFvja7vXs
— Jacob Terry (@jerkob) May 5, 2021
Fraud iOS apps that defraud users and simulate genuine apps continue to be an issue to this day. In current months, designer Kosta Eleftheriou has required to speaking up against fraud apps and highlighting noteworthy frauds in the App Store, bringing additional attention to the concern.

At the time, Temple Run was an incredibly popular iOS special title, and in February 2012, a fake version of Temple Run struck 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 team. “How does an obvious rip off of the very popular Temple Run, with no screenshots, trash marketing text, and nearly all 1-star scores end up being the # 1 free app on the shop?”
Phil Schiller in 2012, after a rip-off app struck # 1: “What the hell is this?????
… Is no one reviewing evaluating Apps?

Knockoff apps have actually long been a problem in the App Store, with rip-off apps sneaking past customers to compete with genuine apps and take sales, and back in 2012, Apples Phil Schiller was absolutely 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 exclusive title, and in February 2012, a fake variation of Temple Run hit the App Store charts. Schiller sent an e-mail to Eddy Cue, Greg Joswiak, Ron Okamoto, Phillip Shoemaker, Matt Fischer, Kevin Saul, and others on the App Store team. “What the hell is this????” he asked. “How does an obvious rip off of the incredibly popular Temple Run, without any screenshots, garbage marketing text, and almost all 1-star rankings end up being the # 1 complimentary app on the store?”
” Is nobody examining these apps? Is nobody minding the store?” he ranted on, prior to asking whether people remembered a talk about becoming the “Nordstrom” of App Stores in quality of service.

Phil Schiller in 2012, after a rip-off app struck # 1: “What the hell is this?????
… Is nobody reviewing these Apps? Is no one minding the shop?” pic.twitter.com/pNaozl6hv1
— Patrick McGee (@PatrickMcGee_) May 3, 2021
Because that 2012 tirade, App Store reviewers have actually continued to deal with knockoff apps that simulate real apps. A second document highlighted Minecraft knockoffs that had made it into the App Store not as soon as, but twice, and was eating up Minecraft sales, and in a third 2015 file, Schiller remarks that he “cant think” that Apple does not have automated tools to kick and discover out fraud apps.