App Ethics

Many App developers have manipulated the App Store environment to artificially posture their app rankings.  Rankings can certainly turbo boost unit and revenue sales in a market where app discovery can be difficult.

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Some developers where caught using their allotted promo codes for paid apps being sent to employees and friends in return for 5 star ratings and glowing comments about the app.  This would be done every month by simply making a minor change to the app and pushing it up to the App Store thereby reloading the allotted promo codes.  The positive ratings and comments influenced other iOS users to buy the app.  To compound this, existing users of the app would update their app every tiem the developer issued a new version.  Apple would track the installed updates and move the developer's app up the rankings list thereby giving the app more exposure.  Many developers that used this system were removed from the App Store.

Today, some developers are issuing false 'bug fix' updates so that their app appears in the recently released section of the first page of each app category.   App development is challenging and there are many legitimate bugs that go undetected through pre-release testing by the developer and even Apple.  One developer in the hockey space recently issued a 'bug fix' update to three of their apps at once.  Questionable.

When I first learned of App Store manipulation, I came up with our own App Ethics guidelines.  These are available in each of our app descriptions on the App Store.

1. We do not post our own reviews of this app on any app review site. 2. We do not pay others to write a review of this app on any app review site. 3. We do not purchase our own app to artificially increase our rankings. 4. We do not post reviews of competitors' apps. 

We should add a fifth.  "We do not issue false 'bug fix' updates."