Apple would appear to be cracking down on developers who try to artificially boost their standing in the App Store. The company warned against manipulation of rankings on its Developer News page.
"Once you build a great app, you want everyone to know about it. However, 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," Apple warned.
The practice of reviews manipulation through third-party marketers or by paying users to write fake reviews is sadly all too common, not just on the App Store, but on many other digital marketplaces. In fact, a recent Pocket Gamer report found that for just $5,000 developers can pay for a service that would ensure an app's entry into the top 25 free apps on the App Store. That's a bargain basement price for such high exposure.
We're glad to Apple taking a stand on the issue. Hopefully, gaming the system will become more difficult over time.
