Apple’s App Stores need a lot of work. There was a news piece yesterday about how scam developers made scam authenticator apps in response to Twitter now charging for two-factor authentication. One charged users $40 per year. The trouble is not Twitter (though charging for two-factor authentication is ridiculous), but Apple for letting these obvious scam apps in.

Apple will get around to banning them once they’re made aware of the problem, but the fact that these apps were ever available is a fail. And that’s not the only place the App Stores fall short. Search has never been good, and there are all sorts of competitive tricks that make it hard for small developers to get any traction.

I like that Apple takes a hand in the app approval process. I think they have the right idea of acting as gatekeepers to protect their users. My problem is that as things stand, the barbarians are getting through the gates.