Apple removes dubious app that refused access until users gave it a rating: Report

The app allegedly forced users to provide a rating as soon as it was opened, and could not be dismissed until a rating was submitted.

FILE PHOTO - This March 19, 2018, file photo shows Apple's App Store app in Baltimore. (AP)

Apple may boast that its App Store is secure and keeps its users safe due to curation, shady and malicious apps have sometimes managed to slip through the cracks. The company is quick to take down these apps once flagged, including a recently detected app that demanded reviews from users before they even opened the app.

Some app developers resort to questionable measures to gain high reviews, such as nagging users to rate their apps repeatedly, or pushing them to rate after using a specific feature. However, the developer of the UPNP Xtreme app, allegedly went a step further and forced users to rate the app before allowing them to actually use the app, the Verge reports. This is clearly a violation of the App Store's ‘best practices' guidelines that state a request for a review should not be shown as soon as an app is launched.

The review: “This app forced me to give it a good rating before I could use it.”

You: “Pfff, no one's FORCING you!”

The app: 🤯 pic.twitter.com/R6ytFAguhU

— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) May 25, 2021

The app's dubious behaviour was identified by developer Kosta Eleftheriou, who has developed a reputation for spotting several apps that violate the company's guidelines, including apps that trick users into paying huge subscriptions via in-app purchases after a short trial. In the case of the UPNP Xtreme app, the developer had designed the app to pop up a request to rate the app that could not be dismissed or rated below three stars, while the Verge reports that some users found the message could be dismissed.

While Apple seems to have pulled the app from the store, the question about how the app managed to pass the store's supposed stringent checks still remains. Fortunately for iOS users, the App Store offers the ability to shut down the ability of apps to request a review in the app. This is perhaps a possible solution that users can turn on in case they want to avoid such an experience in any other app in the future.