The swift rise of Sora led numerous App Store scammers to attempt to capitalize on its popularity. Following the release of OpenAI’s invite-only, video-generating mobile application the previous week, Apple’s App Store was overwhelmed with fraudulent apps that also claimed to be “Sora” or “Sora 2” — the latter alluding to the innovative AI video model that accompanied the mobile app’s launch.
Somehow, these applications bypassed Apple’s App Review process. Despite utilizing a brand name trademarked by OpenAI and widely recognized in the tech sector even before the app’s debut, they were publicly listed on the App Store.
According to research that Appfigures, an app intelligence platform, supplied to TechCrunch at our request, more than twelve apps with the “Sora” name appeared on the App Store following the official app’s launch. Over half of them specifically incorporated “Sora 2” into their titles. (John Gruber, an Apple blogger and expert, noticed one of them and dubbed it the “App Store scam of the week.”)
Many of the apps were not brand new. Some had been available on the App Store for months or even years, occasionally under different names. The copycats, which also exist on Google Play, had collectively amassed around 300,000 installs to date, with over 80,000 installs occurring after the official Sora app’s debut. (For context, OpenAI has since revealed that Sora’s official mobile app has been downloaded one million times.)
Almost all of the fake apps were updated shortly after the release of OpenAI’s Sora app in order to take advantage of user demand and search activity, frequently by changing their names.
It’s not clear how these apps managed to evade Apple’s reviewers; according to Appfigures, Apple eventually removed many of them from its App Store.
The largest of the fake apps was titled “Sora 2 – AI Video Generator,” a clear attempt to manipulate App Store searches for the term “sora.” Following the launch of the official app, it received over 50,000 installs.
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As of this writing, a few apps using the Sora name are still available, despite the possibility of misleading consumers. However, “PetReels — Sora for Pets” has only had a few hundred installs. Another app, “Viral AI Photo Maker: Vi-sora,” is attempting to incorporate the word Sora but has not gained popularity.
The app with the name “Sora 2” (Sora 2 – Video Generator Ai) is performing slightly better. It has received over 6,000 downloads and continues to grow.
In total, the apps have made more than $160,000, which is a respectable sum considering their short lifespans.
Apple was contacted for comment on how apps with the Sora name were able to be published and whether the remaining apps with the Sora name would be removed. There was no response before publication.
