Two of the three rely on the user installing an app that they don’t intend to install. This seems to be more a “app search” problem than a security problem (I mean yes it’s both). And search is truly awful on both major platforms.
If I do a search for a particular app where I know the exact name of the app and type it in, I WANT ONE RESULT. Thankfully for most apps, the top search result is often (but not always) the app I specifically asked for. But both stores then add a long tail of competing apps and scam apps that I obviously don’t want. Why??? I searched for AirBnB. I only want AirBnB. If I wanted VRBO app I would have typed that in! If I wanted fucking Expedia to find airline flights I would have typed that in!! Just leave them out.
I don’t know the solution for when a user wants “an iptv app” and doesn’t know the name or developer, and the scam app SEO’d its way into the top organic result. Harder problems. But can Apple/Google please fix the dead simple case first?
Right? I searched for "Town of Salem" on my android phone yesterday and it was the third result, the exact name. The top two results were some other games, maybe sponsored ad spots?
Either way, its the same with a lot of these companies, looking for more and more places they could companies to pay to get their information first. Just like Google search results, I've seen the first 3-5 links being sponsored spots, that's like half the page and you have to scroll to get to real search results!
I am glad I switched to Kagi as my search engine. Sadly, until we start paying for these services we will be the product.
If I do a search for a particular app where I know the exact name of the app and type it in, I WANT ONE RESULT. Thankfully for most apps, the top search result is often (but not always) the app I specifically asked for. But both stores then add a long tail of competing apps and scam apps that I obviously don’t want. Why??? I searched for AirBnB. I only want AirBnB. If I wanted VRBO app I would have typed that in! If I wanted fucking Expedia to find airline flights I would have typed that in!! Just leave them out.
I don’t know the solution for when a user wants “an iptv app” and doesn’t know the name or developer, and the scam app SEO’d its way into the top organic result. Harder problems. But can Apple/Google please fix the dead simple case first?