To be clear: Notepad++ has never released a macOS version.
Name confusion is doing all the work here, and most people won’t think to check the publisher line before installing.
I really wish the stores had a big “unofficial / not affiliated” label near the download button, not buried under the developer name.
Store listings kind of train you to look at the icon, the stars, and hit install, and the “publisher” line is tiny. A big “unofficial / not affiliated with Notepad++” right under the title would save a lot of people from downloading the wrong thing.
App stores shouldn’t let random publishers squat on “Notepad++” as a name unless they can prove they’re actually connected to it.
Since enforcement is clearly spotty, a big “unofficial / not affiliated with Notepad++” line directly under the title feels like the bare minimum for the icon + stars crowd.
Look — name squatting is basically phishing with better branding, and people fall for it because the store UI trains them to trust icons and ratings. At minimum the listing should show the real publisher identity and a loud “not affiliated” disclaimer so the damage is obvious before someone hands over permissions or money.
Yeah, and even the “not affiliated” thing feels kinda toothless when the app name/logo still gets to do all the work in search results. apple should just block obvious trademark clones from using the name in the first place, because most people aren’t reading publisher details before they click install.
I get the frustration, but I’m a little nervous about “Apple should just block it” as a blanket rule — false positives would be brutal for legit apps with similar names. It feels more realistic to force a clear rename + different icon when there’s a trademark complaint, so search results stop doing the misleading work.
