Today, a well known app developer named Nikita Bier released a new app, to so much success that people were touting him like he was a king of app design.
The app is called Explode, and it makes me so angry that I want to explode. Let's look at why.
So, what does Explode do?
Explode is - in it's most mundane form - Snapchat in iMessage. You take a photo, send it to someone, and they can only see it once, and they don't need the app because of App Clips. If this premise isn't already a red flag, opening the app should be.
Dark Patterns that start from Interaction Zero
The awful, intrusive marketing and manipulation starts before you even download the app - notice their publisher name.
Tap Get. Sounds strange for a company, doesn't it?
Well it isn't a company. It's a trick - and abuse of the App Store layout.
This already raises so many alarm bells to a scammy cashgrab of an app. But let's dig further.
The first launch
The very first thing you see when opening Explode is this:
I'm not joking.
Nikita is so manipulative and careless to users that he replicated and imitated the native iOS notification popup with the false impression of a FORCED allow. The only reason I would have even spotted the difference as a normal user is because I have Scheduled Summaries on, altering the appearance of the modal.
This is SO deeply unsettling. The notification prompt exists to provide users control and choice. This execution manipulates users into believing they have none.
Oh and if you press Don't Allow you get this same prompt every time you open the app. Granted iOS shields you from actually allowing them - you'd have to go to Settings to fix that. But it's still intentional pressure.
Let's continue, but you are off to a terrible start, Nikita.
Next you are asked for a phone number to sign up, asked for a name and instructed to install the iMessage app. Pretty normal onboarding
But it gets worse. FAR worse.
The second after you go back to the app, you are immediately fed an offer - the lure of one month free premium if you send 3 photos to friends. This is where the forced viral aspect starts.
This modal promotes a super easy reward - while failing to mention the subscription prices anywhere mind you - in return for instant marketing for the app, due to the second sly tactic - which is borderline abuse of Apple's SDKs.
The REAL kicker
At the same time the above modal is displayed, an iOS Live Activity is secretly deployed in the background - but not for good reason.
No, this is a persistent advertisement that lives in your notch and on your lock screen.
This is awfully scummy - and shouldn't even be allowed past App Store Review.
But it gets worse.
When you cave and send a photo to someone, it displays in something we call an App Clip.
This app clip opens a pseudo-app on the victim's phone, that then spawns another one of these ads. Without consent, or even the user's knowledge.
This is outrageous. You haven't built this app with an ounce of respect, Nikita. All you want is the viral effect, and you will bend and stretch every single rule and ethic to get that.
People like you are why App Store Review is so hard to get through. I hope you get a taste of their misery, and get every future submission rejected for some bullshit as everlasting karma from this.
Do better, Nikita. And to all the people who thought this was genius - grow up. Learn to market and not prey on young people who will click something because it says "free".
Get a goddam life.