“Apple has expanded its efforts to curtail the unchecked expansion of shovelware and scamware in the iOS App Store, focusing on keeping the store’s library attractive rather than simply aiming to maintain the biggest store in terms of raw numbers,” Daniel Eran Dilger reports for AppleInsider.
“The company’s latest effort at curation has banned the practice of ‘incentivized app installs,’ a gimmick used by some game makers to induce players to install specific other apps in order to continue playing,” Dilger reports. “The practice is similar to ‘offer walls’ promoted by free web games that ask players to participate in offers (such as buying a product or signing up for a trial service subscription) in order to obtain in-game currency required to continue game play.”
Dilger reports, “Apple has banned the practice to prevent companies from artificially distorting the popularity of apps that are only being downloaded because of the incentives.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Thank Jobs! (We hated those apps.)
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lava_Head_UK” for the heads up.]
Yet another reason that the App Store is the app best user experience on earth.
Good!
Amen. That scum belongs solely on Android.
Awesome decision!
I wondered why apple let that be allowed.
Thank you apple for stopping that crap practice.
Good!
Now, in the spirit of “keeping the store’s library attractive rather than simply aiming to maintain the biggest store in terms of raw numbers”, Apple should also remove (or otherwise isolate in a separate enclave in the curated library) all applications by developers who cannot be bothered to provide a write-up in English for English speaking app store markets.
I don’t read Chinese, Korean etc yet the iTunes app store in Australia is chock full of apps that are named and described in these dialects which is a waste of time and very irritating.
Take it a step further and just ban the lame source app to begin with!
“The group issued a whitepaper (PDF) that outlines the various numbers behind the “free-to-play” games business, noting that according to its figures, 80.8 percent of all iPhone downloads in the month of March were free”
Only one problem with this…
I downloaded probably 10 “free” games last month. and i’d bet only 1 was one of these that apple banned.
I use Appshopper.com, freeappaday.com etc. Both have apps, Freeappaday app SUCKS… but i use the push notifications from it. 75% of them are so-so games, 1-2 times a month they have AAA games for free or .99.
I have a huge list of apps i “watch” (on appshopper) when they go on sale… they send a notification telling me the app dropped in price.
some i just buy, but there are ones that i know i’ll only get a little use out of.. so i’m not going to spend 4.99 on it… but .99 on sale or free… sign me up.
World series of poker for iPad… hardly one of those banned by apple. its what… $5 on app store… i got it FREE. (Best texas hold em on the app store IMO)
And i know i’m not the only one using sites like that. Or people cruising the app store and seeing apps that are on sale and grabbing them on impulse. My niece types in “free” in the search box all the time to find new stuff.
Hell… Scrabble for iPad was .99 last week… let me see…$9.99 or .99? hmmm…
What apple did, i applaud.
But just cause a ton of “free” apps were downloaded last month does NOT mean they were the type banned by apple.. there is a difference.