Apple Removes Fakespot From App Store After Amazon Takedown Request

Apple Removes Fakespot From App Store After Amazon Takedown Request

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As Amazon continues to deal with criticisms over fake and dishonest reviews, the retailer managed to get Apple to remove the Fakespot iOS app.

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Apple Removes Fakespot From App Store After Amazon Takedown Request

Apple has removed the Fakespot app from the iOS App Store at the request of Amazon. The news of the removal of the iPhone and iPad app comes at a time when Amazon has faced increased criticisms over its review moderation process, and especially in light of reports of third-party sellers often encouraging users to write reviews in return for some reward, whether it be a discount on a future product or a gift card that be used on other purchases.

Amazon, as one of the most globally well-known and widely-used retailers, sells mostly everything a consumer can think of. With such a wide and substantial stocklist, there are going to be times when a consumer might want guidance on pricing and whether a product is worth the cost before making a purchase. Reviews by those who previously bought the same item are often the first place a consumer will look for those answers. The problem is, Amazon has continually faced criticism over the legitimacy of some of its user reviews.

Fakespot looks to offer some help in this respect by offering various browser and app-based tools that can be used to add further context to the likely legitimacy of a review. For example, a browser extension or app that allows the user to filter reviews based on a ‘review legitimacy’ score, or filter out fake or dishonest reviews altogether. As The Verge points out, the latest iOS app version was only released in June, boasting “state-of-the-art AI and machine learning” that “eliminates fake reviews, counterfeits, and unreliable sellers.” However, as the report also points out, the app has already been removed from Apple’s App Store, and based on a takedown request by none other than Amazon.

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Why Apple Removed Fakespot & Will Android Next?

According to the report, Amazon was not entirely happy with how the app operated. Specifically, that the app wrapped the Amazon website with its own overlay. Whether Apple agreed with the wrapping or not, it would seem this is what fundamentally caused Apple to make the decision to pull the app, after Amazon cited the App Store’s own rules on developers requiring permission from a third-party service to house the third-party’s website within their own app. Naturally, Amazon didn’t provide permission, leaving Apple with little alternative other than to remove the app. Besides the technical reason for the removal, Amazon also reportedly took further issue with the Fakespot app update, citing that its review scores are often wrong and that the implementation could actually lead to Amazon user data being compromised. As to be expected, Fakespot disagreed with these claims.

At present, the Fakespot app still remains available on Android. However, the Android version does not appear to have received an update since January of last year, according to the Google Play Store, and so it may not be boasting the same improvements and changes as the iOS version. If that is the case, then it would seem likely that the app will remain available on Android, and free from a similar takedown request by Amazon.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/apple-fakespot-iphone-ipad-app-removed-amazon-takedown-request/

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