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So if you want to get your competitor banned from the App store, just post lots of spammy positive reviews for their product? How would you defend your app aga

So if you want to get your competitor banned from the App store, just post lots of spammy positive reviews for their product? How would you defend your app against such an attack?

abestic9 10y ago
While I don't know how their rating system or detection works, I imagine it would be harder than just posting spammy positive reviews. They would have to have solid evidence that you're doing it to your own app, or paying someone to do it on your behalf.
- Blaaguuu 10y ago
  I hope that's the case... It would make sense, since this doesn't appear to be an action Apple has taken on a regular basis.
- lewisl9029 10y ago
  Genuinely curious: what are some heuristics that could be used to distinguish between fraudulent reviews paid for by the developer and those paid for by a malicious third party? Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems practically impossible to distinguish between the two unless there was a royal screw up somewhere along the line.
  - HappyTypist 10y ago
    Using freebie promo codes given by the developer
skwirl 10y ago
I would recommend responding to Apple when they attempt to contact you. It appears that this developer did not do that.
- brazzledazzle 10y ago
  It also sounds like he didn't get those attempts. It's easy to assume good faith on the part of both parties here.
Blaaguuu 10y ago
That was my first thought as well... Even if in this case it was actually Dash putting up fake reviews, this seems like a slightly dangerous precedent to set. It would be a big risk, but one could potentially buy 'false flag' reviews - throw some negative reviews on your own product, and positive reviews on your biggest competitor - It would hurt yourself in the short-term, but could pay off if you can get the competitor banned. Again, super risky, probably stupid strategy... But with the state of the 'app' market, I wouldn't be surprised if people would try it.
deleted 10y ago
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cloudjacker 10y ago
It works on Google Play lol. Apple's iTunes accounts on iOS devices are actually pretty cumbersome to use and change quickly. You just go on fiverr.com and pay someone in Indonesia $5 for the hit.
ceor4 10y ago
I think apple is pretty savvy to this sort of attack. They only banned him after there were thousands of fake reviews (supporting his app, and harming others) AND an account that was tied to his (same device ids and credit card) was involved. I think apple acted pretty responsibly here.

So if you want to get your competitor banned from the App store, just post lots of spammy positive reviews for their product? How would you defend your app against such an attack?

abestic9 10y ago

While I don't know how their rating system or detection works, I imagine it would be harder than just posting spammy positive reviews. They would have to have solid evidence that you're doing it to your own app, or paying someone to do it on your behalf.

Blaaguuu 10y ago
I hope that's the case... It would make sense, since this doesn't appear to be an action Apple has taken on a regular basis.
lewisl9029 10y ago
Genuinely curious: what are some heuristics that could be used to distinguish between fraudulent reviews paid for by the developer and those paid for by a malicious third party? Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems practically impossible to distinguish between the two unless there was a royal screw up somewhere along the line.
- HappyTypist 10y ago
  Using freebie promo codes given by the developer

skwirl 10y ago

I would recommend responding to Apple when they attempt to contact you. It appears that this developer did not do that.

brazzledazzle 10y ago
It also sounds like he didn't get those attempts. It's easy to assume good faith on the part of both parties here.

Blaaguuu 10y ago

That was my first thought as well... Even if in this case it was actually Dash putting up fake reviews, this seems like a slightly dangerous precedent to set. It would be a big risk, but one could potentially buy 'false flag' reviews - throw some negative reviews on your own product, and positive reviews on your biggest competitor - It would hurt yourself in the short-term, but could pay off if you can get the competitor banned. Again, super risky, probably stupid strategy... But with the state of the 'app' market, I wouldn't be surprised if people would try it.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

cloudjacker 10y ago

It works on Google Play lol. Apple's iTunes accounts on iOS devices are actually pretty cumbersome to use and change quickly. You just go on fiverr.com and pay someone in Indonesia $5 for the hit.

ceor4 10y ago

I think apple is pretty savvy to this sort of attack. They only banned him after there were thousands of fake reviews (supporting his app, and harming others) AND an account that was tied to his (same device ids and credit card) was involved. I think apple acted pretty responsibly here.