Discussion

• UPROXX Chris Barnewall on x

  ‘Wordle’ Rip-Offs Popped Up On The App Store But Apple Took Them Down

• @waxpancake Andy Baio on x

  This guy shamelessly cloned Wordle (name and all) as an F2P iOS game with in-app purchases and is bragging about how well it's doing and how he'll get away with it because Josh Wardle didn't trademark it. So gross. https://twitter.com/...

• @zachshakked Zach on x

  This is absurd. 450 trials at 1am last night, now at 950 and getting a new ones every minute. 12K downloads, rank #28 word game, and #4 result for “wordle” in the App Store. We're going to the fucking moon. https://twitter.com/...

• @tha_rami Rami Ismail on x

  yes twitter, I am absolutely sure that I want to tell this morally bankrupt asshole who stole wordle and put it on app store without even the decency to change the name to absolutely fuck off https://twitter.com/...

• @zachshakked Zach on x

  I'm literally giddy right now - that's 5.4k downloads in 1 FUCKING HOUR. https://twitter.com/...

• @keleftheriou @keleftheriou on x

  @waxpancake Update: “Wordle - The App” is no longer available on the App Store: https://twitter.com/...

• @harrymccracken Harry McCracken on x

  15 years after the iPhone was announced, the fact that the App Store is both a walled garden AND a wild west is one of the great disappointments of this whole era. https://t.co/9C56zlO5Ug

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  All that talk about needing control over the store to protect people from scams and Apple couldn't stop these jerks from stealing dude's game with the same name https://www.theverge.com/...

• @caleweissman @caleweissman on x

  crazy what seven months can do [juxtaposition of Wordle copycat author's tweet on how he despises copycats and the recent tweet crowing about his Wordle app]

• @cabel @cabel on x

  @zachshakked That's ironic because I'm now literally giddy to hopefully walk the creator of Wordle through the App Store takedown process

• @ow Owen Williams on x

  If Apple and Google were *actually* allowing proper competition, you'd be able to register a PWA/web app in their stores if you choose that route instead of a native app. But uh, that doesn't help build their walled gardens so we get...this

• @gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x

  “The App Store clones are here to profit off Wordle's success.” What say you @gregjoz ? https://www.theverge.com/...

• @gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x

  Of sites like the @verge weren't all over this, would Apple have noticed on their own? Or cared? https://www.theverge.com/...

• @gruber John Gruber on x

  @neilcybart @daringfireball I'm not saying charging $10/week should be disallowed. I'm say it should be looked at. Same for fake reviews. Apple doesn't need to “solve” fake reviews. Just investigate top grossing apps for fake reviews.

• @reneritchie Rene Ritchie on x

  @wplate I'd love to chat about this with the VP of App Store if given the opportunity. I have spoken with Apple, Google, and YouTube engineers about false bans vs. active scams and it's not an easy problem to solve at massive, moving scale. They basically work the middle.

• @blackamazon @blackamazon on x

  Wordle is a Pandemic parable https://twitter.com/...

• @acarboni Anthony Carboni on x

  Any Wordle app you find on the App Store is a ripoff. The real one is free and playable in a browser here: https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/ wordle/ https://twitter.com/...

• @notamateurhour Benjamin O'Connor on x

  @reckless There was no trademark filed on Wordle. It's a hell of a judgement call for an App Store to reject everything with the same name as anything else that exists with no legal registration. In cases like this, they rely on trademark violation reports (same as Facebook, twit…

• @gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x

  I guess as long as Apple get it cut of subscription fees it's ok. Good news is they will share it with the ripoff developer who is kind of proud of his work on Twitter. https://www.engadget.com/...

• @keleftheriou @keleftheriou on x

  “The situation is a little embarrassing for Apple, which has often cited its high standards and App Review process as a reason it should be allowed to keep control over which apps run on iPhones and iPads.” https://twitter.com/...

• @gidmk @gidmk on x

  Interestingly, there were already 2 apps named Wordle (which were totally different to Wordle) on Google Play when I check a couple of weeks ago, in one case I think made by the same people who make Boggle. I think they're probably doing quite well at the moment! https://twitter.…

• @ow Owen Williams on x

  Wordle is a fascinating example of how you can get punished by App Stores for building web first instead of a native app. If someone (like this) decides to rip your idea and use the name in the store, you don't have any recourse except...making your own app. https://twitter.com/.…

• @_alastair Alastair Coote on x

  Back in 2014 I worked on a webapp for NYT's 7 Minute Workout. Very rewarding project, but who knows how many people ended up using one of the many crappy rip off App Store apps instead (some even directly ripped the NYT illustrations!) https://twitter.com/...

• @bernstein Joe Bernstein on x

  Amazing how Wordle is recreating the entire “indie games” half decade in two weeks https://twitter.com/...

• @jowens510 Jeremy C. Owens on x

  My wife a couple days ago: “I downloaded that Wordle app the NYT wrote about but it's kinda weird.” Me: “Delete that.” https://twitter.com/...

• @danielpunkass Daniel Jalkut on x

  In addition to helping @powerlanguish issue a takedown notice to the developers of the (many!) App Store apps usurping his brand name, I wonder if he would accept assistance in asssembling an “official” Wordle app for iOS? @cabel @reneritchie

• @timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x

  It's amazing Apple let the App Store get this bad while under antitrust scrutiny and holding up “consumer protection” as the alibi for blocking all competing stores on iOS. It's a disgrace to everyone in the tech industry. https://twitter.com/...

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  Apple following the exact same pattern as Facebook and Twitter and YouTube when it comes to content moderation: let other people repeatedly find the obvious problems for free since it's not like anyone can leave the platform https://www.theverge.com/...

• @hodapp @hodapp on x

  Watching people get mad at the blatant Wordle clone rocketing up the App Store charts, expecting Apple to do literally anything about it: [Meme gif: “First time?” (Being hanged)]

• @neilcybart Neil Cybart on x

  @keleftheriou ... This goes back to my initial tweet to John. If someone is upset with devs charging big $$ for weekly subs, that's an issue that would involve Apple wading into dictating what devs can't & can charge. As for fake reviews, that's an industry problem. A wac-a-mole …

• @patrickwardle Patrick Wardle on x

  All's well that ends well?🤷🏻‍♂ ️ ...but how did Apple not have the foresight to see/prevent this in the first place? (esp. as their own guidelines prohibit clones/ripoffs). Yet again highlights how ineffective the App Store is as a gatekeeper (...we know it's really about control…

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  You can fix content moderation problems with money or the occasional brand damage, and it turns out the brand damage doesn't matter if there's nowhere else to go

• @backlon Dieter Bohn on x

  (Imagine if moving a web app from Safari to your home screen was a simple, intuitive process, well supported and often promoted by Apple as a Sweet Solution for indie developers who don't want or need to use the App Store to distribute their apps.) https://www.theverge.com/...

• @neilcybart Neil Cybart on x

  @keleftheriou ... That kind of detail seems relevant to add to your thread, no? This is not a random new app where the developer is trying to milk App Store search. Is the developer relying on goodwill (i.e. positive PR that he obtained in the past) to pass off the app as somethi…

• @stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x

  If you take a popular trending game, create a copy of it, slap on a $30 subscription fee, and submit it to the App Store under an identical name, is it...: [Poll]

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  @notamateurhour This is a deeply weak argument, I'm sorry. Apple famously told people to stop making fart apps just because it didn't like them

• @questauthority Mike Dunford on x

  Looks like the guy who made the Wordle clone phone app has locked his account down. I wonder why.

• @reckless Nilay Patel on x

  The guy who stole Wordle is bad and should be ashamed, sure. But Apple's entire thing is that central control and review of every app will prevent things like this, and this shit just waltzed right through. It's pretty embarrassing, actually!

• @zachshakked Zach on x

  Internets really a great place. I get I'm your punching bag for the day and what I did was completely wrong but please don't do this shit? https://twitter.com/...

• @neilcybart Neil Cybart on x

  @gruber @daringfireball An honest suggestion may be: “Apple can just use common sense to say this app functionality isn't worth $10/week.” In theory, sure. But that kind of moderation opens the door to so many potential issues as Apple would be in the business of dictating indust…

• @charlesarthur Charles Arthur on x

  @MostFoolhardy @alexhern There are six, count them six, Wordle apps in the App Store, and none is by the original maker. I'd leave a one-star review but can't even look at the reviews (or maybe none of the paid-for ratings left a review).

• @parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on x

  I still think Apple (or someone) should revive the web app directory... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @danielpunkass Daniel Jalkut on x

  As long as there is a void of an official app in the App Store(s), it's going to be irresistible to scammers to try to seize on the opportunity to steal the name.

• @neilcybart Neil Cybart on x

  @daringfireball @gruber Easier said than done. Apple likely doesn't want to move down path of dictating what developers can and can't charge based on “fairness.” Regulatory implications at play. As for fake reviews, that's a problem that no one on the web has been able to solve A…

• @lap_felix Félix Lapalme on x

  @keleftheriou ... How is a 520$/year app not a scam? The point isn't that this is illegal, but if Apple wants the App Store to be a little curated so that users can trust the apps that are in it, 10$/week apps shouldn't be allowed. Nobody would willingly pay 520$ a year for this …

• @reneritchie Rene Ritchie on x

  @neilcybart ... I've talked to people at Apple, Google, and YouTube about this stuff. Handling UGC at massive scale is not a solved problem. They basically try to navigate the biggest middle they can between false bans and active scams, constantly battling well-funded bad actors

• @jeffgrubb Jeff Grubb on x

  First digital video game was Spacewar! Second and third games were Galaxy Game and Computer Space, both were clones of Spacewar. When it went from video game to video game(s), it was with clones. That's how much it is in gaming's DNA. https://twitter.com/...

• @neilcybart Neil Cybart on x

  @somospostpc ... I'm aware. The app received a lot of positive press over the years. (I'm still not entirely sure what that has to do with the app being called a scam in 2022 though.)

• @anildash @anildash on x

  A meaningful thing Apple could do to show it values developers would be to crack down on people publishing & monetizing apps directly designed to trick people by cashing in on popular web apps. Maybe regulators would even appreciate the show of good faith.

• @reneritchie Rene Ritchie on x

  They should just have an App Store reviewer monitor scam-alert Twitter and yote all this stuff with extreme prejudice https://twitter.com/...

• @cwarzel Charlie Warzel on x

  feel like this dude who just stole somebody's game and put it on the app store is performance art or something it's so blatant https://t.co/oUG26G6ezR

• @alexhern Alex Hern on x

  Something that doesn't get hammered home enough is how many problems with big tech are actually kinda trivially fixable if the companies involved would accept the loss of about half their profit margin https://daringfireball.net/...

• @daringfireball Daring Fireball on x

  App Store Scam of the Week: ‘AmpMe’ https://daringfireball.net/...