App Store review allowed a Meta Muse copycat
7 hours ago
- Muse AI is a blatant copy of Meta's Muse app, using similar naming, screenshots, and descriptions while changing 'personal' to 'professional'.
- Muse from Meta is the #1 iOS App Store download in the US, but Muse AI ranks #20 on the Mac App Store, likely because it's the top search result for 'Muse' since Meta's app isn't there.
- Muse AI was released only three weeks ago, updated recently with a new logo, and includes expensive in-app purchases like a $20 monthly subscription, deceiving at least one user into subscribing.
- Another copycat, 'App for Instagram 照片', ranks #11 on the Mac App Store, mimics Instagram's icon, and uses aggressive paywalls, fake positive reviews, and a privacy policy hosted on free sites.google.com.
- The 'App for Instagram 照片' traps users with non-closable subscription prompts, preventing normal quitting or system shutdown unless users subscribe, as detailed in several user reviews.
- Similarly, 'Video Player for VLC' is the top search result for 'VLC' on the Mac App Store, mimicking VLC's icon with no clear relation to the open-source project, and also uses sites.google.com for privacy policy and expensive in-app purchases.
- The pattern highlights how App Store scammers exploit naming conventions (e.g., 'X for Y'), icon similarity, and the absence of official apps on macOS to trick users, while Apple's review often misses the red flags.