Sora 2 clones start flooding the App Store worldwide (9to5mac.com)

Update: several of the copycat apps referenced were later removed from the App Store or had their titles reverted. Still, when OpenAI’s official Sora voice/video app launched only in the US and Canada, dozens of imitators — e.g., “Sora 2: AI Video Generator” — began surfacing worldwide, some climbing the App Store charts (one hit No. 9 in Photo & Video). Many clones reuse OpenAI branding or falsely cite models like Google’s Veo 3, and they push in‑app purchases and recurring weekly subscriptions, creating a realistic but misleading storefront for users who can’t access the official release. For the AI/ML community this is a timely reminder of product‑provenance risks: app stores can be abused to monetize hype, misrepresent model provenance, and collect data or payments under false pretenses. Technically, the clones may be wrapping third‑party APIs or local models and advertising capabilities they don’t have, which complicates trust in model outputs and raises privacy/financial risk for users. The episode underscores the need for stronger marketplace verification (publisher identity, verified model provenance, clearer labeling of which models power apps), better automated detection of brand impersonation, and user education to avoid subscription scams while official rollouts remain region‑limited.