Apple is removing Fakespot from the App Store at Amazon’s request
Apple responded positively to a request from Amazon and removed Fakespot from the App Store, an app that analyzes reviews from multiple sites to determine their authenticity.
The Fakespot app disappears from the App Store
Amazon requested a takedown in June, and Apple only took action today. The online merchant explains that the Fakespot app uses a container to display the site and can potentially be exploited to steal data from Amazon customers. The group believes that Fakespot violates App Store rule 5.2.2. This prevents applications from using, accessing, monetizing access or viewing content from a third-party service if they are not authorized to do so.
“The app in question provides customers with misleading information about our sellers and their products, interferes with the activities of our sellers and creates security risks. We appreciate Apple’s review of this app against the App Store guidelines ”, told Amazon about Fakespot to The Verge.
Saoud Khalifah, the founder of the application, criticizes the fact that Apple did not give him an opportunity to try to make adjustments and thus respect all the rules. “We have just spent months of resources, time and money on this application”, he said. He adds that Amazon “Intimidates small businesses”, which highlights “The cracks in their business”. The app had over 150,000 installs before it was retired.
Apple’s response to the withdrawal
Apple has also decided to react to the removal of Fakespot from the App Store and we can see that the company is talking about a delay, contrary to the words of the developer:
This was an intellectual property rights dispute initiated by Amazon on June 8. In the hours that followed, we ensured that both parties were in contact with each other, explaining the issue and the actions the developer would take to keep their app on the store, and giving it enough time to resolve the problem. On June 29, we contacted Fakespot again a few weeks before removing their app from the App Store.
On paper, a service like Fakespot can be interesting. Amazon also notes that it has already analyzed reviews believed to be false according to Fakespot. But the online merchant claims that the service’s findings are false more than 80% of the time.
