The Amazon shopping app in the Google Play Store on an Android smartphone.
Christoph Dernbach | picture alliance | Getty Images
Apple has removed Fakespot, a well-known app for detecting fake product reviews, from its App Store after Amazon complained the app provided misleading information and potential security risks.
Fakespot’s app works by analyzing the credibility of an Amazon listing’s reviews and gives it a grade of A through F. It then provides shoppers with recommendations for products with high customer satisfaction.
Amazon said it reported Fakespot to Apple for investigation after it grew concerned that a redesigned version of the app confused consumers by displaying Amazon’s website in the app with Fakespot code and content overlaid on top of it. Amazon said it doesn’t allow applications to do this. An Amazon spokesperson claimed, “The app in question provides customers with misleading information about our sellers and their products, harms our sellers’ businesses, and creates potential security risks.”
By Friday afternoon, following a review from Apple, the app was no longer available on the App Store.
Misleading or fake user reviews have proven to be a major problem for online retailers, including Amazon. The company has recently ramped up its efforts to detect and cull fake reviews. Its third-party marketplace, made up of millions of sellers, has grown to account for more than half of the company’s overall sales, but it has become fertile ground for fake reviews, counterfeits and unsafe products. Regulators in the U.S. and abroad have taken steps to curb fake reviews on and off Amazon.
As fake reviews continue to proliferate the internet, third-party apps and websites have sprung up to help shoppers spot them, such as Fakespot, ReviewMeta and ReconBob.
Amazon reported well-known fake review detector app Fakespot to Apple for investigation, triggering its removal from the App Store.
Amazon
It’s unclear why Apple removed Fakespot from its App Store, and Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
But Amazon pointed CNBC to two subsections of Apple’s App Store guidelines that Fakespot may have violated. One guideline states that apps must make sure they’re permitted to use, access, monetize access to or display content from a third-party service. Another guideline states that apps should not include false information and features.
Amazon also claims Fakespot’s coding technique makes it possible for the app to collect and track information from customers. The company last January made similar claims against PayPal-owned Honey, a browser extension that lets users find coupons while shopping online, warning users it could be a “security risk.”
Fakespot: ‘They’ve shown zero proof’
In an interview, Fakespot founder and CEO Saoud Khalifah said he disputed Amazon’s claim that the app presents security risks and said that while Fakespot does collect some user data, it doesn’t sell it to third parties.
Khalifah added that many apps use the same coding technique, called “wrapping,” to include a web browser view, such as coupon providers. He said many apps and websites also collect and track user information, including Amazon.
“We don’t steal users’ information, we’ve never done that,” Khalifah said. “They’ve shown zero proof and Apple acted on this with zero proof.”
Fakespot released a new version of its app at the end of May. Amazon reported the app to Apple in mid-June, Khalifah said.
Khalifah said he was upset that Apple didn’t give Fakespot adequate warning that the app would be taken down from the App Store, or the ability to rectify issues with the app.
“Imagine going to a tenant and saying you have to take all your stuff, you have to leave right now. That’s how I feel right now, to be quite honest with you,” he added.
Fakespot’s app is still available on the Google Play Store for Android devices as of Friday evening.
Super Micro Computer shares slid 15% in extended trading on Tuesday after the server maker reported disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter results and issued weak quarterly earnings guidance.
Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:
Earnings per share: 41 cents adjusted vs. 44 cents expected
Revenue: $5.76 billion vs. $5.89 billion expected
Super Micro’s revenue increased 7.5% during the quarter, which ended on June 30, according to a statement.
For the current quarter, Super Micro called for 40 cents to 52 cents in adjusted earnings per share on $6 billion to $7 billion in revenue for the fiscal first quarter. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for 59 cents per share and $6.6 billion in revenue.
For the 2026 fiscal year, Super Micro sees at least $33 billion in revenue, above the LSEG consensus of $29.94 billion.
Super Micro saw surging demand starting in 2023 for its data center servers packed with Nvidia for handling artificial intelligence models and workloads. Growth has since slowed.
The company avoided being delisted from the Nasdaq after falling behind on quarterly financial filings and seeing the departure of its auditor.
As of Tuesday’s close, Super Micro shares were up around 88% so far in 2025, while the S&P 500 index has gained 7%.
Executives will discuss the results on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.
Hinge Health co-founders, Gabriel Mecklenburg and Daniel Perez celebrate its initial public offering at the New York Stock Exchange on May 22, 2025.
NYSE
Shares of Hinge Health popped 6% in extended trading on Tuesday after the digital physical therapy company reported quarterly results for the first time since its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in May.
Here’s how the company did based on average analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:
Loss: Loss per share of $13.10. That may not compare with the 9 cents per share earnings expected
Revenue: $139 million vs. $125 million expected
Revenue at Hinge increased 55% in the second quarter from $89.8 million during the same period last year, according to a release.
Hinge reported a net loss of $575.65 million, or $13.10 per share, compared to a loss of $12.93 million, a loss of 96 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier. The company said its GAAP loss from operations was $580.7 million, which included $591.0 million from stock-based compensation expenses.
“We’re still introducing ourselves to the world,” Hinge CEO Daniel Perez told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday. “The most important thing I’d hope for people to take away is the long-term potential of using software and connected hardware to automate care delivery itself.”
Read more CNBC tech news
Hinge, founded in 2014, uses software to help patients treat acute musculoskeletal injuries, chronic pain and carry out post-surgery rehabilitation remotely.
It finished the second quarter with 2,359 clients, up 39% from 1,785 clients during the same period last year.
Hinge said it expects to report revenue between $141 million and $143 million during its third quarter. LSEG analysts were expecting $129 million. For the full year, the company said it expects revenue of $548 million to $552 million, which also beat the $511 million expected by LSEG analysts.
The stock opened at $39.25 in May, rising 23% from its $32 IPO price. Shares of Hinge closed at $48.22 on Tuesday.
“We believe we’re fundamentally reshaping how care can be delivered more effectively and efficiently,” Perez said during the company’s quarterly call with investors.
Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, testifiy during the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing titled “Winning the AI Race: Strengthening U.S. Capabilities in Computing and Innovation,” in Hart building on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Advanced Micro Devices reported quarter earnings on Tuesday that missed estimates. The stock slid about 4% in extended trading.
Here’s how the chipmaker did versus LSEG expectations for the quarter ended June:
Earnings per share: 48 cents adjusted versus 49 cents expected
Revenue: $7.69 billion versus $7.42 billion expected
For the current quarter, AMD expects sales of $8.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million, versus expectations of earnings of $8.3 billion.
AMD reported net income during its fiscal second quarter of $872 million, or 54 cents per share, increasing from $265 million, or 16 cents per share in the year-ago period. Nvidia’s overall sales rose 32% in the period from $5.84 billion a year earlier.
AMD is the second-biggest maker of graphics processing units (GPUs) for artificial intelligence behind Nvidia, which has the vast majority of the market. But big AI customers such as Meta and OpenAI are increasingly looking to AMD to provide an alternative to Nvidia’s pricey chips, especially for inference, or when AI models are deployed to the public.
During the quarter, AMD announced new AI chips called the MI400 that are expected to hit the market next year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman committed to using AMD’s newest GPUs.
AMD is also grappling with chip export controls which have been placed on some of its AI chips because the U.S. government worries that powerful GPUs could be used by adversaries to surpass American capabilities or be used for military purposes.
The MI308 was previously barred for export to China in April, which the company said cost it $800 million in the June quarter. However, the company said in July that it expected shipments to resume after the Trump administration signaled that it would approve waivers. AMD said its outlook doesn’t include any revenue from its China-focused AI chip called the MI308 and its license applications are currently being reviewed by the Department of Commerce.
AMD’s adjusted gross margin during the quarter was 43%. The company said it would have been 54% if not for export control costs.
AMD’s main business, aside from GPUs, is making central processors, called CPUs, which compete with Intel to power more traditional servers.
Both are reported in the company’s data center segment, which had $3.2 billion in revenue, up 14% on an annual basis.
The other major segment for AMD is called Client and Gaming, which includes the company’s CPUs for laptops and desktops, and its GPUs for 3D gaming. That was up 69% on an annual basis to $3.6 billion. Client revenue by itself rose 57% to $2.5 billion, in line with the StreetAccount expectations of $2.56 billion, partially driven by strong demand for the company’s latest desktop CPUs, which it calls AMD Ryzen Zen 5.
Gaming revenue by itself was up 73% year-over-year to $1.1 billion, versus StreetAccount estimate of $784 million, with its growth due to increased demand for custom chips for game consoles and gaming GPUs, AMD said.