Fake ‘Sora’ Apps Flood App Store as OpenAI’s Video Generator Breaks Download Records

Highlights

Hundreds of fake “Sora” apps are exploiting OpenAI’s viral success, slipping past Apple’s review process and earning massive profits.

OpenAI’s latest innovation, Sora, has taken the digital world by storm—so much so that it has sparked a surge of fake apps flooding Apple’s App Store. Within days of the official invite-only release of Sora, the AI-powered video generator, several impostor apps began appearing under misleading titles to ride on OpenAI’s massive popularity.

According to TechCrunch, more than a dozen applications bearing the “Sora” name surfaced on the App Store shortly after OpenAI’s official launch. Data analytics firm Appfigures revealed that many of these were simply rebranded, dormant apps that had suddenly been updated with Sora-themed names to grab attention. Some even used labels like “Sora 2,” referencing OpenAI’s underlying video model, to manipulate search rankings and attract unsuspecting users.

The official Sora app, still available only through invitations, achieved a record-breaking milestone—crossing one million downloads faster than OpenAI’s previous hit, ChatGPT. But that same success has also drawn opportunistic developers trying to capitalize on the buzz.

One of the most aggressive impostors, “Sora 2 – AI Video Generator,” managed to gain more than 50,000 downloads in just a few days after the official launch. In total, the fake Sora apps collectively amassed nearly 300,000 installs across iOS and Android platforms, with over 80,000 downloads coming after the legitimate version was released. Shockingly, these clone apps generated a combined $160,000 in revenue before Apple intervened to take several of them down.

However, some impostors remain active. Apps like “PetReels — Sora for Pets” and “Viral AI Photo Maker: Vi-sora” are still live, though they appear to be gaining limited traction. Another clone, “Sora 2 – Video Generator Ai,” continues to exist on the App Store, accumulating more than 6,000 downloads despite its questionable legitimacy.

The incident has once again brought Apple’s App Review process under scrutiny. Critics question how multiple fake apps using a well-known trademark like “Sora” managed to pass Apple’s approval filters. While OpenAI has not released an official statement regarding the impersonations, Apple also declined to comment on why so many fraudulent apps were approved and whether the remaining ones will soon be removed.

Tech commentator John Gruber called out one of the clones as the “App Store scam of the week,” highlighting how blatant some of the imitations have become. His comments underscore growing concerns over the effectiveness of app store moderation, especially when dealing with high-profile technology launches that attract massive public attention.

The wave of fake apps mirrors a similar situation during the early rollout of ChatGPT, but experts say the scale and speed of Sora’s imitators are even more striking. With OpenAI’s growing influence in the consumer AI space, the Sora phenomenon has turned into both a breakthrough and a cautionary tale about the darker side of tech virality.

For now, users should remain cautious—any app claiming to offer open access to Sora is almost certainly a fake, as the real version remains invite-only.