Fake “Sora” Apps Flood App Stores, Increasing Confusion Among Users

Staff Reporter | PNN:
Following the promotion and rapid popularity of OpenAI’s new video-generating mobile app, Sora, some scammers have tried to exploit the situation in various app stores. After the official launch, multiple fake apps named “Sora” and “Sora 2” appeared on Apple’s App Store, using OpenAI’s trademarked brand.

According to research by the app intelligence platform Appfigures, more than a dozen apps with the “Sora” brand went live after the official launch. Over half of these were named “Sora 2.” Some of these fake apps had already been on the App Store earlier this year or even last year. Collectively, these apps were installed around 300,000 times, with more than 80,000 installations occurring after the official Sora app launch. In comparison, OpenAI reports that the official Sora app has already been downloaded 1 million times.

Most of the fake apps updated their names after the official app launch to take advantage of user searches and demand. The largest fake app, “Sora 2 – AI Video Generator,” was created to appear in searches for the keyword “Sora” and was installed nearly 50,000 times after the official launch.

Although Apple later removed many of the fake apps from the App Store, some Sora-branded apps are still live. For instance, “Petrolis Sora for Pets” was installed only a few hundred times, while “Viral AI Photo Maker: V-Sora” has not gained much popularity yet. “Sora 2 – Video Generator AI” has been downloaded about 6,000 times.

In short, these fake apps generated roughly $160,000 in a short period. Apple has not yet commented on why some fake apps remain live or when the remaining ones will be removed.