Sketchy ChatGPT App Soars Up App Store Charts, Charges $7.99 Weekly Subscription [Update: Removed]

A sketchy app claiming to be the bot ChatGPT has soared up App Store charts, charging users a $7.99 weekly subscription to use a service that is entirely free to use on the web and seemingly has no affiliation to the actual bot.

ChatGPT on App Store Feature
ChatGPT has soared in popularity recently, with some calling it the "iPhone moment" for AI, given its mainstream appeal. ChatGPT can articulate short and long-form responses when given a simple prompt, such as to write an email, essay, message, and more. The bot has seen its popularity grow with students and those in academia who have used it for research and assignments.

ChatGPT is free to use on the web for anyone with an OpenAI account, but it has inspired scammers and sketchy developers to take advantage of its popularity for ill-gained profit. One app in particular, named "ChatGPT Chat GPT AI With GPT-3," gives the impression it is the official app for the ChatGPT bot, but appears to have no affiliation to Open AI, the creators of ChatGPT, or the bot itself.

The app charges users a $7.99 weekly or $49.99 annual subscription to use the bot unlimited times and eliminate intrusive in-app ads. The app and its bot are inconsistent, sometimes providing generic or entirely irrelevant responses to a prompt offered by the user.

The app is currently the second most popular productivity app on the App Store in the United States, indicating it is rather popular. The app has nearly 12,000 ratings, with a number of positive and negative reviews. "This is a fake app," one review said. "This is just faking openai endorsement and more bad stuff," another user said. Despite its suspicious activity, presence, and soaring popularity, the app has passed Apple's ‌App Store‌ review process multiple times since its initial launch three weeks ago.

The developers behind the app, named "Social Media Apps & Game Sports health Run Hiking Runing fitness tracking," have other sketchy apps on the platform, including an "Activity Lock Screen Widget 16" app and "BetterTrack Ride Hike Run Swim" app.

Apple is known to be facing a tough battle against scams and sketchy apps on the ‌App Store‌, with some raking in millions of dollars in revuene. Apple, however, calls the ‌App Store‌ a "trusted platform" where apps are "held to the highest standards for privacy, security, and content."

Update January 10, 11:45 am: The app has been removed from the ‌App Store‌.

Popular Stories

airpods 4 blue

Apple Finally Explains How to Install New Firmware on Your AirPods

Monday January 27, 2025 11:17 am PST by
Apple regularly releases new firmware for the AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max, but the company has historically provided limited information on how to initiate an update. That changed today, and Apple updated its AirPods firmware support page with more specific instructions. Prior to today, here's what Apple said on the subject: Firmware updates are delivered automatically while your...
iOS 18

iOS 18.3 Available as Soon as Today With These New Features

Monday January 27, 2025 6:35 am PST by
Update: Apple has released iOS 18.3. In its press release unveiling a new Black Unity Sport Loop for the Apple Watch today, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.3 is "upcoming." According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple Stores are being instructed to update the software on demo devices today, so iOS 18.3 should be released either today or within the next few days. Below, we recap everything new...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching This Year With These 8 New Features

Tuesday January 28, 2025 11:48 am PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025: More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
tvOS 18 Thumb 3

Apple Releases tvOS 18.3

Monday January 27, 2025 10:00 am PST by
Apple today released tvOS 18.3, the newest version of the tvOS 18 operating system that came out in September. tvOS 18.3 comes more than a month after Apple released tvOS 18.2, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and the Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.3 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.3 With Visual Intelligence and Notification Summary Improvements

Monday January 27, 2025 10:04 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, the third major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 software that came out last year. iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 come six weeks after Apple released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iPadOS 17.7.4 for...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

5 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's MacBook Pro

Monday January 27, 2025 4:25 am PST by
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small...
ipad january sale

Amazon's New iPad Sale Has Up to $300 Off M4 iPad Pro, M2 iPad Air, and iPad Mini 7

Tuesday January 28, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Today we're tracking a few iPad discounts on Amazon, including the new iPad mini 7, M2 iPad Air, and M4 iPad Pro. These deals include multiple all-time low prices on Apple's tablets, matching the prices we tracked over the holiday season in many cases. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...

Top Rated Comments

cateye Avatar
27 months ago
Of course, it's important to remember at a time like this that the main reason Apple wants to retain complete and exclusive control over the App Store and the ability to sell apps to iOS users has absolutely nothing at all to do with money, but rather their laser-like focus on maintaining the safety and, dare we say, exquisite quality of each and every app offered.
Score: 74 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
27 months ago
Makes no sense how this one got through Apple's review process. Sketchyness written all over it.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rm5 Avatar
27 months ago
How Apple is allowing these apps on the App Store is shocking to me
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
temende Avatar
27 months ago
I'm not sure why people would expect Apple to reject this app? 30% of $8/week can add up over time. And Apple isn't a charity.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BradWI Avatar
27 months ago
Did they also move the app store review people to the AR/VR team?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eulslix Avatar
27 months ago
And that's why we don't want to have third party app stores. That's why we pay 30% of our revenue as a commission. So that we have actual qualit... oh wait nevermind
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)