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Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by dangus on Monday November 13, 2023 @10:28PM (#38258707)
I have to think that $99 a year keeps away a lot of people who aren’t serious, and maybe even discourages various scams and schemes that depend on flooding platforms with apps scammers know will get rejected eventually in a whack-a-mole fashion.

If your account gets banned and you lose $99 before the scam paid off it’s not worth your time.

Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by lakpan on Monday November 13, 2023 @10:46PM (#38258854)
I think you underestimate how much scamming pays. It’s much more than $99 per day, so unless Apple blocks the app immediately they’re still making money.
Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by clnq on Monday November 13, 2023 @11:06PM (#38259011)
But not all crummy behavior, right? Things like ad-infested basic apps might be discouraged even with the $99. I am talking about apps like tip calculators, daily quote apps, and very basic games like slots that have no chance of being monetized well beyond ads.
Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by realusername on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @01:50AM (#38259940)
What is discouraged is the solo devs making their first apps and the solo devs in poorer countries (but Apple lost those markets anyways). The scams and the useless apps have no problem paying a single 99$ bill.
Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by stefandesu on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @01:03AM (#38259712)
Will Apple stay pay out the scam money if they ban you immediately?
Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by saagarjha on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @01:36AM (#38259878)
They don’t ban you immediately.
Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by michaelmrose on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @04:20AM (#38260938)
They could hold funds for new unknown developers for 60 days for good behavior. During this time if you get banned they should seize the entire proceeds to refund to their users.
Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by lakpan on Wednesday November 15, 2023 @02:02AM (#38274063)
This would be great but in practice they'll just use third-party ad networks, which pay regardless of Apple's decision. It'll definitely break those pesky inflated subscriptions though.
Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by michaelmrose on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @04:19AM (#38260932)
How about $99 to register plus $10,000 fine + 100% of proceeds of perfidy + termination for certain misbehavior + mandatory presence of someone company or individual present in a country willing to enforce such a provision.

If you want it to really stick make them buy a bond against in such a jurisdiction. After one party has been burned for their 10k they'll find their former partner exceedingly aggressive in recovering their money and none willing to do business.

Furthermore most of such abusive behavior is trivially recognizable based on dollar figures involved, behavior, organic reviews, complaints. In this day and age there isn't much excuse for a trillion dollar company not to have automated 99% of the situation and employ labor to handle the rest.

Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by lakpan on Wednesday November 15, 2023 @02:06AM (#38274076)
Can companies actually enforce "fines"? The closest I can think of would be a "breach of contract" penalty, but you'd still have to go to court of file small claims for that. I don't see Apple getting into any of that to improve the quality of the App Store.
Re:Android App Devs now require 20 people to test before pub... by heavyset_go on Monday November 13, 2023 @11:36PM (#38259225)
There are multimillion dollar scams on the App Store[1]:

> That man’s name is Kosta Eleftheriou, and over the past few months, he’s made a convincing case that Apple is either uninterested or incompetent at stopping multimillion-dollar scams in its own App Store. He’s repeatedly found scam apps that prey on ordinary iPhone and iPad owners by luring them into a “free trial” of an app with seemingly thousands of fake 5-star reviews, only to charge them outrageous sums of money for a recurring subscription that many don’t understand how to cancel. “It’s a situation that most communities are blind to because of how Apple is essentially brainwashing people into believing the App Store is a trusted place,” he tells The Verge.

The fee is nothing.

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/8/22272849/apple-app-store-s...