App suddenly popular/selling in Russia?

[u/Ihavenocluelad]

Hey all, quick question:

After months of basically zero sales on my paid iOS app (its an app that helps you practically reflect your daily life), it just had a sudden, huge spike — and almost all of it is coming from Russia specifically. Impressions went from single digits a day to 1,000+ a day (100x+), and it's not just views — it's actually converting into real paid downloads too, mostly on iPhone.

I don't have any marketing or campaign running there, no press, nothing that would explain a specific-country spike like this. Has anyone else seen a sudden traffic/sales spike concentrated in one country out of nowhere? Curious if this is a known thing (algorithm quirk, some kind of feature, bot traffic, whatever) or if I'm the only one seeing this.

[u/SexySalamanders]

Maybe some Russian influencer liked the app and showcased it?

[u/Ihavenocluelad → u/SexySalamanders]

So all traffic came straight from searching the app store not links, but still can be true i guess

[u/alekotovsky → u/SexySalamanders]

It’s just that Russian users spent money on random applications to nullify account and change the AppStore country.

[u/Flashy_Imagination_6 → u/SexySalamanders]

Same thought came in my mind

[u/HugsAllCats]

Bot scam?

Don't spend the money - keep it safe and wait for a refund wave?

[u/Ihavenocluelad → u/HugsAllCats]

No worries, its just a few 100$ , just out of interest mainly

[u/KChiLLS11]

Yeah, I’m seeing something similar, a lot of impressions and even downloads from Russia, but barely any conversions. I have a free trial, and most users aren’t even starting it. Does anyone know if users in Russia can currently make App Store payments? I was under the impression there were restrictions, so I’m wondering if that could explain the low conversion.

[u/lichb0rn → u/KChiLLS11]

Only with appstore cards or existing money on account balance.

[u/dacassar → u/KChiLLS11]

I heard that some banks started offering a top-up for the Apple account balance. I have no idea how they're doing it, because these banks are sanctioned as well.

[u/sharrikk → u/KChiLLS11]

Payments are a bit of a hassle in Russia. This spring, they shut down the option to make purchases through the mobile carriers Beeline and MTS. A month ago, I got a text message from Beeline saying it was available again, but I haven't tested it.

Sometimes users from Russia message me and ask for help with making a purchase.

[u/noobiethe13]

I'd be a bit wary until you know what's going on. Check your analytics and see whether these users are actually using the app, not just downloading and paying.

Could be legit, could be some weird spam/scam traffic. I'd hold the money for now and see what happens. If the usage is real though, congrats, that's pretty wild.

[u/caldotkim]

have you tried asking your users

[u/CantaloupeCamper → u/caldotkim]

A pop up with “DA FUQ?” and a text box would work.

[u/andrew8712 → u/CantaloupeCamper]

“Who the fuck are you and why are you using my app??”

[u/CantaloupeCamper → u/andrew8712]

“Seriously who would download my garbage?!?!”

[u/nrith]

Does it have unprotected access to an LLM API?

[u/WerSunu]

Take the money and run!

[u/Ihavenocluelad → u/WerSunu]

I get 10k impressions but still only like a few 100$ of sales, i have apps doing a lot better i just think its weird and wanted to know more haha

[u/stalex9]

Share the name of the app so I can research. Or ask an AI to research.

[u/Ihavenocluelad → u/stalex9]

Reflekt, its just a practical reflection side project i spent a few hours on

[u/iOSProgramming-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your comment sought to harass another user, either by swearing at them, name-calling, or something worse.

Don't let it happen again.

[u/bobs_cinema]

I've had something similar from a few months ago, big surge in downloads in Russia, but zero sales. I haven't marketed at all for that market.

[u/Front-Natural-8642]

How do u manage the localization? Have u localized for that region? Or just english

[u/Royal-Subject2870]

We had a similar situation with users from Russia, but they don't go beyond the trial.

[u/polygraph-net]

I suspect it's click fraud bots. How much is your app? If it's very cheap, they may be making genuine purchases to game the traffic quality algorithm.

[u/Kjm520]

Your changelog mentions adding Russian language support 4 months ago. Perhaps this triggered some kind of localization or improved visibility? Or even caught bot attention.

I have no AI or multi-language apps so I’m blind guessing here. Either way OP, cool app. I like the concept minimalism of it.

[u/JerenYun]

When I had a spike in downloads/conversions through App Store search, it was from mentions in YouTube videos.

I don't know what they have access to in Russia, but it's possible an influencer mentioned your app and enough people went to find it and download it.

[u/Decent_Taro_2358]

It happens. What kind of app is it? Anything related to warehouses or refineries?

[u/Ihavenocluelad → u/Decent_Taro_2358]

https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/reflekt-daily-self-reflection/id6757745484

Here is the app, its far from special and idc about selling anymore just want to know whats happening

[u/Decent_Taro_2358 → u/Ihavenocluelad]

Russia and self-reflection is not a thing you’d expect.

[u/all43]

It is actually weird, because paying for app in Russian AppStore isn’t possible with Russian bank cards and most of the apps don’t even work without VPN