Despite Apple’s review process for apps on the App Store, sometimes terrible scams slip through. Even more so for Google’s Play Store, where apps aren’t subject to human review before going live. If you’re having a hard time figuring out how to avoid app store scams, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there are some helpful guidelines you can follow to keep yourself safe.
Scam apps come in a variety of forms. Some will pretend to be popular, legitimate apps–or even spoof the name of a feature of the operating system itself–only to inject their own obnoxious ads that would appear out of nowhere, steal your personal information, or download malware. Other scams offer a simple service, only to charge exorbitant subscription fees before letting users try the app themselves, and then fail to deliver. Regardless of what form the scams take, the best protection is to avoid installing these apps entirely. With that in mind, here are some key signs to watch for.
Don’t Trust Star Ratings on Their Own
Both Apple and Google prominently feature an average star rating for each app, to give you a quick, easy-to-understand idea of how users view an app. An app with an average rating of 4.7 stars is probably more trustworthy than an app with an average 1.7-star rating, right?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Not every star rating comes with a written review, and it’s relatively easy for malicious actors to ..
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