# App Store Monitor — Competitor iOS App Tracking (`dottti/appstore-monitor`) Actor

Track any iOS app across storefronts and get only what changed: new versions with release notes, price moves, rating shifts, delistings and fresh reviews.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/dottti/appstore-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Mohanad Alshaka](https://apify.com/dottti) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 app change detecteds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## App Store Monitor — Competitor iOS App Tracking

Watch any iOS app and get **only what changed since your last run**: new versions with their release notes, price moves, rating shifts, delistings, and the fresh reviews behind a rating drop.

Point it at your competitors, schedule it daily, and each run returns a short list of what moved instead of a fresh dump of the same app records.

### Why this one is reliable

It reads Apple's own public endpoints. No key, no login, no proxies, no browser, nothing scraped from a page layout that changes when Apple restyles the store.

```
lookup   https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=<id>&country=<cc>
search   https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=<q>&entity=software&country=<cc>
reviews  https://itunes.apple.com/<cc>/rss/customerreviews/page=<n>/id=<id>/sortBy=mostRecent/json
```

### Storefronts are tracked separately, because they differ

Price, currency and rating are per storefront. Measured on the same app on the same day, 13 September 2026:

| Storefront | Rating | Ratings |
| --- | --- | --- |
| us | 4.69 | 29,477,391 |
| gb | 4.70 | 4,207,382 |
| de | 4.59 | 2,484,997 |
| ae | 4.50 | 955,986 |
| sa | 4.34 | 2,350,179 |

A tool that reports one global number for an app is hiding the thing you are usually looking for. Each storefront gets its own baseline here.

### What a change row looks like

```json
{
  "country": "us",
  "changeType": "became_free",
  "reasons": ["became_free", "rating_fell"],
  "title": "WhatsApp Messenger",
  "previousPrice": 9.99,
  "price": 0,
  "formattedPrice": "Free",
  "previousRating": 5.08,
  "averageUserRating": 4.68,
  "ratingMove": -0.4,
  "newRatingsSinceLastRun": 1043,
  "previousVersion": "26.35.73",
  "version": "26.35.74",
  "releaseNotes": "Bug fixes and performance improvements.",
  "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/..."
}
```

Change types: `new_version`, `price_drop`, `price_rise`, `became_paid`, `became_free`, `rating_fell`, `rating_rose`, `title_change`, `developer_change`, `screenshots_changed`, `size_changed`, `delisted`, `new_app`, `first_seen`.

### Three details that matter in practice

**Rating noise is filtered.** An app with 29 million ratings drifts in the fourth decimal every single day. Reporting that as a change buries the real signal, so a move has to clear `ratingDelta` (0.05 by default) before it counts.

**Delisting is detected.** An app that answered last run and returns nothing now has been pulled from that storefront. That is often the most valuable thing this Actor tells you, and a diff that only walked the current results would never surface it.

**A search-ranking drop is not a delisting.** Only apps you explicitly listed in `apps` can be reported as `delisted`. Apps discovered through `searchTerms` falling out of the results are a ranking move, and are never mislabelled as removals.

Every row carries the same fields, including `delisted` rows, so CSV exports stay rectangular.

### Input

| Field | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `apps` | Numeric IDs, bundle IDs, or apps.apple.com URLs. All three work and can be mixed. |
| `searchTerms` | Discover apps by keyword instead of naming them, to watch a whole category. |
| `countries` | Two-letter storefront codes. Each is tracked separately. |
| `mode` | `changes` returns only what moved. `snapshot` returns everything each time. |
| `stateKey` | Names the saved baseline. One key per watchlist. |
| `ratingDelta` | How far the average must move before it counts. Default 0.05. |
| `includeNewReviews` | Attach recent reviews to changed apps, so a rating drop arrives with the reviews that caused it. |

#### Daily competitor watch

```json
{
  "apps": [
    "389801252",
    "com.spotify.client",
    "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id310633997"
  ],
  "countries": ["us", "gb", "sa"],
  "mode": "changes",
  "stateKey": "competitors",
  "includeNewReviews": true
}
```

The first run records the baseline. Every run after returns just the moves.

#### Watch a whole category

```json
{
  "searchTerms": ["habit tracker", "meditation"],
  "countries": ["us"],
  "maxAppsPerSearch": 50,
  "mode": "changes"
}
```

### Notes and limits

- Public App Store data only. No developer account, no App Store Connect credentials, nothing behind a login.
- Reviews come from Apple's public RSS feed, which serves the 50 most recent per page and does not expose the full review history.
- `ratingDelta` applies to the average star rating. `newRatingsSinceLastRun` is always reported exactly, whatever the delta.
- `changes` mode keeps its baseline in a named key-value store. Deleting that store resets it and the next run reports `first_seen` again.

### Development

```bash
npm install
npm test
node src/main.js
```

# Actor input Schema

## `apps` (type: `array`):

App Store numeric IDs, bundle IDs, or apps.apple.com URLs. All three forms work and can be mixed. Example: 389801252, com.burbn.instagram, https://apps.apple.com/us/app/instagram/id389801252

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

Optionally discover apps by keyword instead of naming them. Useful for watching a whole category. Search results are never reported as delisted, since a ranking drop is not a removal.

## `countries` (type: `array`):

Two-letter country codes. Price, currency and rating are per storefront, so Instagram reads 4.69 in us and 4.34 in sa on the same day. Each storefront is tracked separately.

## `mode` (type: `string`):

changes: return only apps that moved since the previous run. snapshot: return every app every time.

## `stateKey` (type: `string`):

Names the saved baseline that changes are measured against. Use one key per watchlist so separate schedules do not overwrite each other.

## `ratingDelta` (type: `string`):

How far the average star rating must move before it counts as a change. An app with millions of ratings drifts in the fourth decimal daily, which would otherwise bury the real signal.

## `includeNewReviews` (type: `boolean`):

Adds the most recent reviews to each changed app, so a rating drop arrives with the reviews that caused it.

## `maxReviewsPerApp` (type: `integer`):

Apple serves 50 reviews per page through the public RSS feed.

## `maxAppsPerSearch` (type: `integer`):

Upper bound on how many apps each search term may return.

## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`):

iTunes throttles bursts with 403 as well as 429. Raise this if the log shows throttling.

## `maxRetries` (type: `integer`):

Retries with exponential backoff on 403, 429 and 5xx, honouring Retry-After when present.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "apps": [
    "389801252"
  ],
  "countries": [
    "us"
  ],
  "mode": "changes",
  "stateKey": "default",
  "ratingDelta": "0.05",
  "includeNewReviews": false,
  "maxReviewsPerApp": 50,
  "maxAppsPerSearch": 25,
  "requestDelayMs": 300,
  "maxRetries": 4
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `apps` (type: `string`):

Each row carries changeType (new\_version, price\_drop, price\_rise, became\_paid, became\_free, rating\_fell, rating\_rose, title\_change, developer\_change, screenshots\_changed, delisted, first\_seen), the previous version, price and rating, the rating movement, new ratings since last run, and the full current app record including release notes.

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

Per-storefront outcome: apps resolved, rows delivered, and any storefront that failed with the reason.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "apps": [
        "389801252"
    ],
    "countries": [
        "us"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("dottti/appstore-monitor").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "apps": ["389801252"],
    "countries": ["us"],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("dottti/appstore-monitor").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "apps": [
    "389801252"
  ],
  "countries": [
    "us"
  ]
}' |
apify call dottti/appstore-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,dottti/appstore-monitor"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/Sq7ULHZwt7cLrPsCf/builds/7eURlZuOZtmi5XVbC/openapi.json