‘Obvious’ App Store ratings fraud going undetected by Apple, says StopTheMadness developer

Jeff Johnson, developer of the popular StopTheMadness Safari extension, believes that "obvious" App Store ratings fraud is going undetected by Apple. Johnson claims to frequently encounter this type of fraud, with a recent example being a top-12 paid Safari extension that uses a fake AI-generated screenshot and a 4.9 out of 5 star rating.

Apple claims its App Store review process protects users from dishonest developers, but Johnson argues that the "4.9 out of 5" star rating in the screenshot should have raised red flags. He argues that Apple needs to implement a system where top-ranking apps are subject to more rigorous review, as even detecting some instances of fraud should be relatively straightforward given Apple's record of all ratings and reviews.