Sneaky subscriptions are plaguing the App Store

guest · Oct 15, 2018

Sneaky subscriptions are plaguing the App Store
October 15, 2018
https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/15/sneaky-subscriptions-are-plaguing-the-app-store/

Subscriptions have turned into a booming business for app developers, [...] But alongside this healthy growth, a number of scammers are now taking advantage of subscriptions in order to trick users into signing up for expensive and recurring plans.
Utilities Top Grossing Apps are worst offenders
How are apps like QR code readers, document scanners, translators and weather apps raking in so much money? Especially when some of their utilitarian functions can be found elsewhere for much less, or even for free?

Many of these “free trials” convert almost immediately, too, which is another way developers are cashing in. They don’t give you time to think about it before they start charging.
Apple also buries Subscription management
The issue of scam apps may not always be the failure of App Store review. It’s possible that the scammy apps sneak in their tricks after Apple’s App Review team approves them, making them harder to catch.

For now, Apple is largely relying on user and developer reports via reportaproblem.apple.com — a site most probably don’t know exists — to help them fight scammers. It needs to do more. [...]
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guest · Oct 17, 2018

Apple cracks down on 'scammy' apps that manipulate subscription model
October 17, 2018
https://www.theinquirer.net/inquire...cammy-apps-that-manipulate-subscription-model

Reports at TechCrunch and Forbes have named-and-shamed a number of apps that are taking advantage of subscriptions in order to fool users into signing up for expensive, and often recurring plans.

As spotted by Apple Insider, it seems Apple is beginning to take notice. While the firm has yet to officially comment, 11 or the 17 apps mentioned in Forbes' article have mysteriously disappeared from the App Store - likely because Apple has booted them out.

And while it's taken untli now to do so, the company's strict App Store guidelines have long warned that developers must clearly state subscription terms.
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guest · Oct 19, 2018

Apple yanks subscription scam apps, but leaves a bigger problem intact
October 18, 2018
https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/18/...scam-apps-but-leaves-a-bigger-problem-intact/

There’s nothing wrong with subscriptions to newspapers and magazines that deliver new content on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis — they’ve had in-app subscription options for years, and no one’s complaining.

The problem comes in with virtually everything else — tools, games, and other apps where you should be getting virtually all of the content on day one with no real need to come back for more.

[...] there’s something fundamentally wrong with trying to turn a calculator or unit converter into a subscription app. No one goes to a physical store to rent a physical calculator for a month [...] so any rental program would inherently be a scam.

I might be able to understand a subscription model for certain big apps that are guaranteed to grow over time, but even so, I won’t patronize them; like most people, I want to just pay once and be done.
[...] If a developer wants to add new features, let it charge for a major release, add an in-app purchase to unlock them, or add them “for free” to entice new customers. I certainly don’t want to pay a developer just to fix bugs.
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