Windows 10 for phones has a huge problem: its app store is infested with fake apps

posted by Victor H. / Feb 08, 2016, 3:46 AM

Popular game Traffic Rider is just one victim of the fake app invasion on Windows 10

Windows 10 for phones has had a catastrophic Holiday quarter as sales slumped to an all-time low to just 4.5 million Lumia phones. That's a decline of the whopping 57% over the same quarter in 2014, and 49% drop in revenue.

However, phone sales are not its only problem: the Windows 10 marketplace seems to have become a mess infested with fake apps.

Fake apps have infested the Windows marketplace

A search for the popular Traffic Rider game yields tens of fake apps that have nothing to do with the official game, but since Microsoft does not seem to exert any control on these apps, they just sit there to confuse users. Try finding the real Traffic Rider game (which is in fact available on Windows 10 for phones) among the dozens of fake apps with a similar name. Sure, once you start looking closely, you will see that most of them are spelled with a typo on purpose: there is 'Traffic.Rider.', then there is 'Traffic Rider.....", then 'Traffic Rider_', and the list just goes on and on.

Truth be told, there is a dropdown that allows you to specify that you are not just looking for apps, but for games in particular, and if you are clever enough to pick that option, you will only see the real game, but for most people, searching for Traffic Rider in the Marketplace will result in a ton of confusing results and the chance of downloading a fake app is quite high.

Will the real Slim Shady... ergh, apps please stand up?

Naturally, this is terrible user experience, but with fake apps for many popular releases, this also artificially inflates the number of apps on the Windows 10 Marketplace, giving a very delusional value to the number of apps available. Microsoft seems to have just let it all slide with Windows 10 for phones, but if it has any plans of reviving the platform, it should resolve those issues ASAP.

reference: Windows Central

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29 Comments

1. BobLawblaw unregistered

They need to do a Blackberry and look to Android. Plus Microsoft releasing more than 1 or 2 phones a year might help..

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 3:50 AM 9

25. Jason78

Posts: 281; Member since: Apr 10, 2013

Microsoft needs to release 4-5 phones per year spread across the various price points. Microsoft launched 10 phones last year but 8 of them were budget phones

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 11:53 AM 3

29. sgodsell

Posts: 7207; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

Microsoft use to have Operating Systems that were more open where OEMs could take their OS, and they could tweak and add their own things to it. However with the latest Windows 10 it is more closed than ever. With that said Microsoft should just do what Apple does. Just make their own devices and stop pretending that your Mobile OS is like your laptop and desktop OS. No one is fooled by this facade, even Microsoft's Windows 10 IoT is a joke with only a tiny handful of boards that are actually supported. We get it, since your so closed these days, only a tiny handful of people actually have access to your OS's.

posted on Feb 09, 2016, 2:08 AM 1

31. joey_sfb

Posts: 6794; Member since: Mar 29, 2012

Microsoft as a company also has integrity issue.. Fake apps is just the tip of the iceberg.

posted on Feb 09, 2016, 6:14 PM 0

2. Sidewinder

Posts: 515; Member since: Jan 15, 2015

I think they'll just ditch the whole windows phone and develop apps and services for the Android platform.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 3:54 AM 10

24. Jason78

Posts: 281; Member since: Apr 10, 2013

They are already do that for the Android and iOS platforms. In fact some of their services work better on other platforms than on Windows Phone.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 11:49 AM 2

3. Syracuse

Posts: 69; Member since: Aug 26, 2015

Dumb asses at Microsoft expect everyone to shell out the grand prize for an ecosystem that is still in its infancy. They should of given great hardware for very interesting prices instead of introducing two full price flagships expecting it to compete right away with ios or android.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 3:59 AM 8

23. NexusKoolaid

Posts: 493; Member since: Oct 24, 2011

You are being far too kind - we're well beyond the ecosystem's infancy at this point.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 11:13 AM 2

5. aco96

Posts: 244; Member since: Oct 12, 2012

I love WIndows Mobile, but the app selection is horrible. Even the store app itself sucks.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 4:24 AM 7

21. xq10xa

Posts: 808; Member since: Dec 07, 2010

So...basically saying Windows Mobile sucks. WTF is the point of your smart phone if you can only load it with garbage.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 10:26 AM 2

6. Planterz

Posts: 2120; Member since: Apr 30, 2012

Microsoft probably lets these apps stick around so they can boast about how many apps they have for their OS.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 4:43 AM 23

22. garciano unregistered

and you know this how?

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 10:45 AM 0

7. 47AlphaTango

Posts: 718; Member since: Sep 27, 2015

Microsoft should have just stick to desktop and leave the mobile to android and ios. As long as there's no developers for windows. It won't be long until they become like nokia. Where they only stayed at 3rd place straight.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 5:01 AM 3

16. jroc74

Posts: 6023; Member since: Dec 30, 2010

Well they seem to have a shot with tablets. But I agree.....get out of the mobile phone business.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 7:40 AM 1

8. nasznjoka

Posts: 418; Member since: Oct 05, 2012

Those ugly blackness everywhere are the issue not the app store or the app gap crup

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 5:01 AM 1

11. lalalaman

Posts: 638; Member since: Aug 19, 2013

thats the beauty :/

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 5:46 AM 1

12. nasznjoka

Posts: 418; Member since: Oct 05, 2012

yeah all wp fans think so, the reason wp is stuck at 1%

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 6:12 AM 1

18. yann

Posts: 613; Member since: Jul 15, 2010

It's not just black. Honestly I like it, but those ugly rectangular filled with text, that must be buttons are so so so ugly and choppy. The whole new interface is unfinished. It's like made by person that doesn't care about the user experience. It's too distant from iOS or Android. Maybe there are functionality that are unique and useful, but behind this ugly unfinished interface - NO. That's why I went back to windows 8.1 on my Lumia 640 and my next phone will not be windows one. Will wait to see next iPhone and next Android flagships till April. My opinion, but market share numbers confirm it.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 8:19 AM 1

9. EcoCare

Posts: 444; Member since: Jul 30, 2014

At this rate, it's doubtful that they'll gain more market share in the smartphone business. -Abysmal app selection -Underpowered, pricey budget phones -Not-so-inspiring flagships -Questionable software updates: Windows 10 Mobile is still in preview -Their OS is getting less inspiring, with most initial innovative features being removed since Windows Phone 8

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 5:01 AM 1

27. ecologer

Posts: 32; Member since: Jul 25, 2014

Spot on.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 2:07 PM 0

10. xondk

Posts: 1904; Member since: Mar 25, 2014

Unfortunately this is something that happens a lot of times, and yeah there needs to be some kind of control, but yeah, it is quite sad that people do this, it is as much as store problem as well a people problem.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 5:43 AM 0

13. JumpinJackROMFlash

Posts: 464; Member since: Dec 10, 2014

Well Apple and Google at least try to remove the offenders. Not so difficult having a fuzzy string comparison to see if there already are similarly named apps and review them.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 6:17 AM 1

26. xondk

Posts: 1904; Member since: Mar 25, 2014

Oh yeah, microsoft definitely needs to do something, but even apple and google have a tone of clone software to the point of silliness depending on titles.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 2:04 PM 0

14. elitewolverine

Posts: 5192; Member since: Oct 28, 2013

Do note that you are under 'apps' and not games. While not obvious to the common person and MS needs to fix this (I already reported all I could find, like other MS users need to do!). But if you look under GAMES you will find the real GAME.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 6:44 AM 0

15. sip1995

Posts: 1771; Member since: Feb 07, 2014

Didn't know you have a Windows device.....impressive.

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 7:09 AM 1

17. Naruto_Uzumaki

Posts: 26; Member since: Mar 22, 2013

Satya Nadella Tanks A Lot!!!!

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 8:16 AM 2

19. kefalin

Posts: 292; Member since: Feb 08, 2015

I think its okay for them,because the number of apps will grow and thats main for them. However when there is 50 apps that are same....

posted on Feb 08, 2016, 8:31 AM 0

20. jellmoo

Posts: 2562; Member since: Oct 31, 2011

Microsoft is at the point where they seem to have given up. Given how lackluster the 950/950XL were and how they can't even figure out their product pipeline, the phone pipedream may be over. They dropped the ball hard with Windows 10 for Mobile, to the point that I'm not even sure if those running WP 8.1 should want to update their device. They really should be looking at this as an opportunity to pivot away from seeking to control a dying platform, and move into the area of owning and controlling services. I think that Microsoft can have a very important place in mobile. Heck, if they want to stay in the handset business I think that they could. But not as platform owners. Those days are done. (Which is sad, as a third platform option is very much needed)