ChatGPT official app launches on iOS after months of fakes

OpenAI has officially launched a ChatGPT app on iOS. It comes after the App Store has been plagued with fakes for the last few months since its explosion in popularity.

ChatGPT’s developers OpenAI have officially – and finally – launched an app onto the iOS App Store. The app version of ChatGPT is pretty much a one-to-one port of the chatbot found in browsers at the moment.

As it just uses your ChatGPT login, OpenAI has also allowed for users to carry on conversations or access history regardless of where they made the query. This also includes giving access to GPT-4 to paying customers through ChatGPT Plus.

OpenAI is prominently putting up at the front that there are no adverts in its app, due to the current state of the App Store’s clones.

“This official app is free (no ads!), syncs your history across devices, and brings you the newest model improvements from OpenAI.”

The app is currently only available in the US, so browsing for it in the UK has revealed the sheer amount of advertisement-filled clones and fakes clogging up Apple’s storefront with in-app purchases.

ChatGPT has a fake app problem

ChatGPT has been subject to multiple fakes, including ones that use edited versions of the OpenAI logo. Some of the apps won’t even have any connection to the API protocols provided by OpenAI, and those that do might not be functioning properly anyway.

A new report from Sophos has dubbed these apps “FleeceGPT”, as they’re filled with various tricks to try to get people to hand over cash for continued use. Some are even using fake reviews to boost their presence on the App Store and lure in more customers.

The report has also found that some of the apps only allow for a couple of questions before locking the app down to try to get payment.