How the rewards app Freecash scammed its way to the top of the app stores

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A information harvesting app called Freecash appears to person tricked users arsenic it rapidly roseate to the apical charts connected the App Store and Google Play, wherever it has sat for months until a caller ban.

If you’ve been connected TikTok this year, you’ve much than apt encountered ads for Freecash. The app has been marketed arsenic a mode to marque wealth conscionable by scrolling TikTok — and jumped to the apical of the app stores successful caller months, peaking astatine the No. 2 presumption successful the U.S. App Store.

In truth, Freecash pays users to play mobile games — all the portion collecting a heaping magnitude of delicate data, according to cybersecurity institution Malwarebytes.

A Malwarebytes study notes that the app whitethorn cod accusation astir users’ race, religion, enactment life, intersexual orientation, health, and different biometrics, adding that the app is fundamentally a information broker looking to lucifer crippled developers with users who are consenting to instal and walk wealth connected mobile games. Games promoted connected Freecash see Monopoly Go and Disney Solitaire, among others.

In effect to a January study from Wired that recovered Freecash utilized deceptive selling techniques and nudged users to walk wealth successful games, TikTok pulled immoderate of Freecash’s ads, saying the institution broke its rules astir fiscal misrepresentation. At the time, Freecash denied involvement, saying the ads were generated by third-party affiliates, not itself.

On Monday, aft being contacted by TechCrunch for comment, Apple pulled Freecash from its App Store. As of Monday afternoon, the app was inactive listed successful the Google Play store.

When reached for comment, Almedia, the Germany-based institution that owns Freecash, denied allegations of driving artificial postulation to its level oregon utilizing deceptive selling techniques.

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“Our apps are afloat compliant with the Apple App Store and Google Play Store policies, arsenic demonstrated by the information that they are unrecorded and regularly walk level reviews,” an email from Almedia PR manager James Law, signed “Almedia Press Office,” noted. “We bash not remark connected interior merchandise strategy regarding circumstantial app listings.”

The question remains however an app similar Freecash was capable to crippled societal media ads and different partnerships to emergence to the apical of the app store. The app’s downloads changeable up successful January 2026 to scope 5.5 cardinal crossed planetary app stores, up from 876,000 successful October 2025, according to data from marketplace quality steadfast Appfigures.

The maturation sent the app into the No. 2 presumption connected the U.S. App Store. Thanks to integrated find and different selling efforts, it continued to clasp a apical 5 spot astir each time since January 8th. On Google Play, it reached No. 7 overall, Appfigures said.

Appfigures told TechCrunch that Freecash’s downloads peaked successful February, reaching astir 6 million, but person since been declining. Current estimates had enactment the app connected way for astir 3 cardinal installs successful April.

However, Freecash’s crippled extends beyond misleading TikToks, imaginable fake ratings, suspiciously favorable Google backlinks, and the apparent usage of bots to thrust postulation to the app.

A imaginable bait-and-switch

Before Freecash rocketed to the apical of the Apple and Google app stores, it was created nether 2 antithetic developer accounts.

Third-party information from marketplace quality supplier Appfigures shows that Almedia GmbH, the German institution down the Freecash app, archetypal submitted Freecash to the Apple App Store connected March 24, 2024, but it was removed aft astir 2 months connected June 13, 2024. (Appmagic sees its removal connected June 12 – spot below.)

This mentation of the app was downloaded an estimated 69.5K times earlier removal, Appfigures said.

Months later, a 2nd app that already existed connected the store, developed by the Cyprus-based institution 256 Rewards Ltd, was rebranded arsenic “Freecash,” and an update was submitted nether that app’s ID, according to the third-party data.

It’s unclear if Almedia acquired the Cyprus-based developer, which was originally called Rewards, oregon if it simply acquired the developer account. Rewards nary longer appears to person a functioning website oregon social media presence, and the squad down the institution has since moved connected to a caller company, Pushed. (Rewards’ co-founders didn’t respond to a petition for remark astir their anterior institution sent via their caller company’s email.)

Almedia’s re-entry into the App Store done different developer relationship whitethorn person been a mode of circumventing a prohibition connected the archetypal Freecash app. Using different developer to re-enter the App Store aft a prohibition is simply a common, though rule-breaking, tactic. (Almedia’s spokesperson declined to remark astir its earlier app takedown.)

A Washington Post report astir the scam app ecosystem noted this trend, highlighting respective fraudulent apps that would vanish from the App Store and past reappear nether a antithetic developer account. Other autarkic investigations person documented this tactic arsenic well, and often, scam apps’ owners operate a portfolio of accounts, it’s been reported.

It’s unclear if Almedia employed akin practices successful approving its Freecash app, but what is wide is that the Rewards app was renamed to Freecash lone 5 months ago, earlier rapidly rocketing to the apical of the Apple and Google stores. The company’s spokesperson did not accidental whether its archetypal apps were banned for argumentation violations.

Apple’s App Store guidelines prohibit apps that effort to instrumentality its App Review strategy by doing things similar circumventing bans.

After TechCrunch reached retired to Apple for comment, the institution removed Freecash from the App Store for violations of its rules connected Monday, citing the misleading marketing. Apple pointed TechCrunch to 2 App Store Review Guidelines, 3.1.2(a) and 2.3.1, which forbid scamming users, engaging successful bait-and-switch tactics, and selling apps successful a misleading way.

In addition, Apple’s Developer Program License Agreement besides says developers cannot prosecute successful unlawful, unfair, misleading, fraudulent, improper, oregon dishonest acts oregon concern practices relating to their app. This includes engaging successful bait-and-switch pricing, user misrepresentation, deceptive concern practices, oregon unfair contention against different developers, Apple noted.

Almedia whitethorn person done thing akin connected the Google Play Store. The company’s original app (developer ID com.freecash.twa — spot above) was removed successful January 2024, per Appfigures. The existent Freecash app is listed nether a antithetic developer ID (com.freecash.app2). Google tells america it’s looking into the matter.

As of Friday, April 10, Freecash was No. 7 connected the U.S. App Store and No. 13 connected Google Play.

Despite the reports of its deceptive selling tactics, Freecash had a precise precocious reappraisal people of 4.7 stars. It’s not uncommon oregon peculiarly hard for brands to falsify reviews online, but it’s imaginable the precocious standing meant it wasn’t flagged by Apple for removal.

In its statement, Apple told TechCrunch that users should study apps they judge are engaging successful scams oregon fraud via the reportaproblem.apple.com website.

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