Amazon sent a request to Apple to remove the Fakespot app from the store. Apple heeded the request and the app is no longer available on iPhone or iPad.
The Fakespot app analyzes product reviews in online stores in an attempt to identify fake product reviews. However, according to Amazon, after a recent update, the company has become concerned about the way the app parses its site without permission, which, in theory, allows unauthorized access to customer data. A new version of the Fakespot app was released a little over a month ago, it allows you to log into the Amazon system, view and buy products with the Fakespot overlay on top of the main site.
Amazon initiated a deletion request in mid-June, according to the founder of Fakespot. And in mid-July, Apple notified the developers by email that, unfortunately, the situation could not be resolved peacefully, and the Fakespot application has now been removed from the App Store.
“We just spent months of resources, time and money on this app,” says the founder of Fakespot. “Apple didn’t even give us a chance to fix this problem.”
But Apple claims these claims are untrue. Amazon initiated a dispute over intellectual property rights on June 8, according to the Cupertino-based company.
“Within a few hours, we made sure both parties were in contact with each other, explaining the problem and the steps the developer should take to keep their app in the store, and giving them enough time to resolve the issue. On June 29, we reached out to Fakespot again a few weeks before removing their app from the App Store, ”Apple said in a statement.
But since the developers of Fakespot did not eliminate the grounds for the claim, the application was removed from the store.
Amazon claims the Fakespot app violates clause 5.2.2 of Apple’s guidelines, which states:
“Third Party Sites / Services: If your app uses, accesses, monetizes access, or displays content from a third party service, please ensure that you are allowed to do so in accordance with the service’s terms of use. Permission must be granted upon request. “
Amazon also says Fakespot is injecting code into its website, opening an attack vector, and putting customer data (including email, addresses, credit card information, and browser history) at risk. At the same time, the company says it doesn’t really know if Fakespot is actually using this information.
In turn, Fakespot agrees with the statement that the application injects code to display its own ratings. But at the same time, the presence of any vulnerability is categorically denied.
Featured image source: The Verge