Apple bites back

Apple has warned developers that if they are found to be using services that guarantee top placement in the App Store rankings they face being booted out of the App Store.

Following an anonymous posting in a gaming forum, it came to light that a whole new industry has emerged amidst the app market in the form of companies using "bot farms" to increase app rankings. In the anonymous post a developer claimed that he had been approached by a firm that would guarantee a top 25 placement for a $5000 fee.

Ranking in the top 25 in the App Store is a big deal for developers as staying in the top means more downloads which in turn means more money.

Apparently the unnamed firm had outsourced the creation of a bot farm where automated systems would download the app to drive it up into the top 25 rankings. According to the anonymous poster, eight out of the current top 25 apps are promoted by the company that approached him, bringing Apple under scrutiny over the ranking system.

Following this development Apple has been swift to assure users and developers that they will take action against anyone found using these scam methods. Apple issued a statement on its developer forum which said: "When you promote your app, you should avoid using services that advertise or guarantee top placement in App Store Charts. Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership."

The app industry is big business with the advent of smartphones spawning a huge demand for new and exciting apps, and now it looks to have created a whole new arm of that business with scam companies to promote apps. Hopefully this response from Apple will ensure that future rankings will be a true representation of an apps popularity, rather than an inflated one created by bot farms.