The iPhone we are using in our everyday lives might be full of apps trying to trick us.

Apple is not new to the criticism of its App Store. The company has come up with unique ways of their own to follow through on their commitment to protecting users' privacy.

With that, their App Store has been criticized for not allowing third party services to enter their ecosystem. Before the pandemic, the company also charges the developers a huge percent in commission for their sales in the Apple App Store.

However, just recently, a slew of scam apps have been discovered inside the iPhone's App Store that can cause harm to its users.

iPhone Scam Apps

iPhone users are in a vulnerable state because of these scam apps.

Phone Arena reports that Apple has not taken any action against the majority of the 133 scam apps residing in its App Store that were discovered by Avast in March 2021.

These types of apps are called "fleecewear" apps. According to Vpncheck's findings, these apps have now been downloaded 500 million times and have generated $ 365 million in revenue.

The report of Apple not taking action on these malicious activities is brought to light by the fact that even after 15 months, 84 of those apps are still available on the Apple App Store.

Fleecewear apps are created with the purpose of cheating consumers out of their money.

It is important to note that these apps do not necessarily mean they steal users' data, but what they do is put users at risk through hidden hefty fees and charges.

The vast majority of these apps are hidden in very simple services such as daily reminder apps, scanner apps, translators, wallpaper makers, sticker makers, video editors, and many more.

These types of apps definitely have multiple free versions and alternatives in the App Store.

The fleecewear apps build their authority on the iPhone through a rush of sponsored 5-star reviews uploaded.

However, users will notice this as a scam since they are using names to disguise genuine lower-rated evaluations. This is another telltale clue that the reviews are not genuine.

They will entice users to download these programs by offering a free trial period.

They come with additional fees that are not immediately apparent and may charge users more than once or for additional amounts when they check out.

On top of that, they were developed in such a way that it is very difficult to unsubscribe from their services. As a result, it is possible that they will continue invoicing you even after you have uninstalled them.

Phone Arena listed down the 84 apps that have been using these scamming tactics, users can check their list here.

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iPhone Apps' Controversy

The iPhone's App Store has been receiving criticism not just from their user-base but also from other companies and numerous app developers.

Last year, Apple's App Store received backlash on social media when a developer criticized how the company continuously supports scam apps by providing impressive ratings on the iPhone.

The Verge reported that a developer went to Twitter to publicly reveal this scamming tactic in the App Store. An app developer named Kosta Eleftheriou went to Twitter to highlight the ongoing practices. Eleftheriou stated that these apps thrive through fake reviews.

The Verge stated, "Eleftheriou, who created the successful Apple Watch keyboard app FlickType, has publicly criticized Apple for lax enforcement of its App Store rules that have allowed scam apps, as well as apps that clone popular software from other developers, to run rampant."

The developer tweeted, "These quickly push the scams to the top of search results, leaving honest & hard-working developers in the dust."

"An old problem that's not easy to solve, but one that's at the core of why App Store app discovery is so problematic."

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