Apple removes Fakespot from App Store after Amazon complaint

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Amazon shopping app in Google Play Store on Android smartphone.

Christoph Dernbach | Image Alliance | Getty Images

Apple has removed Fakespot, an app known to detect fake product reviews, from its App Store after Amazon complained that the app presented misleading information and potential security risks.

The Fakespot app works by analyzing the credibility of Amazon listing reviews and assigning them an A to F score. It then provides shoppers with recommendations on products that are highly satisfied with customers.

Amazon said it had reported Fakespot to Apple for investigation after it became increasingly concerned that a redesigned version of the app confused consumers by displaying Amazon’s website in the app with the Fakespot code and content superimposed on it. Amazon said it doesn’t allow apps to do this. An Amazon spokesperson claimed, “The app in question provides customers with misleading information about sellers and their products, harms our sellers’ business, and creates potential security risks.”

By noon on Friday, following a review from Apple, the app was no longer available on the App Store.

Misleading or false user reviews have proven to be a huge problem for online retailers, including Amazon. The company has recently intensified its efforts to detect and eliminate fake reviews. The third-party market, made up of millions of sellers, has grown to account for more than half of the company’s total sales, but it has become a breeding ground for fake reviews and unsafe fakes and products. Regulators in the US and abroad have taken steps to curb fake reviews on and off Amazon.

As fake reviews continue to spread online, third-party apps and websites have sprung up to help shoppers spot them, such as Fakespot, ReviewMeta, and ReconBob.

Amazon reported the well-known fake review detector app Fakespot to Apple for investigation, which led to its removal from the App Store.

Amazon

It’s unclear why Apple removed Fakespot from its App Store, and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But Amazon directed CNBC to two subsections of Apple’s App Store guidelines that Fakespot may have violated. One of the guidelines states that apps must make sure they are allowed to use, access, monetize, or view a third-party service. Another guideline states that apps should not include false information and features.

Amazon also claims that Fakespot’s coding technology makes it possible for the app to collect and track information from customers. The company in January made similar claims against PayPal-owned Honey, a browser extension that allows users to find coupons while shopping online, warning users that they could be “security risks”.

Fakespot: They didn’t show any evidence

In an interview, Fakespot founder and CEO Saud Khalifa said he disputed Amazon’s claim that the app poses security risks, and said that while Fakespot does collect some user data, it doesn’t sell it to third parties.

Khalifa added that many apps use the same coding technology, called “wrap”, to embed the display of a web browser, as coupon providers. He said many apps and websites also collect and track user information, including Amazon.

“We do not steal users’ information, and we never have,” Khalifa said. “They showed no evidence, and Apple acted on this without any evidence.”

Fakespot released a new version of its app at the end of May. Khalifa said Amazon notified Apple about the app in mid-June.

Khalifa said he was upset that Apple did not provide a proper warning to Fakespot that the app would be removed from the App Store, or the ability to correct problems with the app.

He added, “Imagine going to a tenant and saying you have to take all your stuff, you have to leave now. That’s how I feel right now, to be completely honest with you.”

The Fakespot app is still available on the Google Play Store for Android devices as of Friday evening.

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