Apple made some changes in its App Store Review Guidelines. Of all the changes, however, the one that stands out is the company’s new reminder about submissions of apps intentionally copying the popular ones to mislead customers.
“Come up with your own ideas,” Apple’s updated agreements and guidelines read. “We know you have them, so make yours come to life. Don’t simply copy the latest popular app on the App Store, or make some minor changes to another app’s name or UI and pass it off as your own. In addition to risking an intellectual property infringement claim, it makes the App Store harder to navigate and just isn’t fair to your fellow developers. Submitting apps which impersonate other apps or services is considered a violation of the Developer Code of Conduct and may result in removal from the Apple Developer Program.”
The announcement came in the midst of ChatGPT’s popularity, which signaled the introduction of copycat AI apps on the Play Store. To recall, prior to the release of the official ChatGPT app, many developers listed their apps in the place using words like “ChatGPT” or “GPT-4.” However, the rise of such kinds of apps raised concerns among experts, who discovered that some suspicious apps were actually laced with malware.
The changes in Apple’s guidelines are expected to address such concerns. Nonetheless, the company still hasn’t shared how it will implement this or what specific actions or standards it will perform to detect copycats on Play Store.
