The original is gone, but the name lives on: a translation app on the Russian store called “DeepL”
What it is An AI translation app listed on the Russian App Store under the DeepL name, which pushes a subscription as soon as you open it.
Why it took off DeepL stopped serving Russia, so the official app is no longer findable on the Russian store. Russian users who search “DeepL” get this app first. Add a low-barrier reference chart and a handful of reviews, and it charted.
DHow you could approach it Don't copy the trademark. Borrow the market-selection approach instead: look for markets where the original has withdrawn and the local store can't find it, then use your own name plus descriptors like “×× alternative” or “available locally” to capture search traffic.
- Data (updated daily) · First released 2026-10-11 · Russia rating 12 · 11-08 charted in 2 stores
iOS · best category chart rank · by store Data 2026-10-28 → 2026-11-08 (12 days, 12 observations). Lower rank is higher; gaps mean it wasn't charted that dayiOS · ratings · Russia Data 2026-10-28 → 2026-11-08 (12 days, 12 observations). Apple doesn't publish download counts; rating growth is a proxy for downloads.
DeepL 2025 stopped serving Russia and Belarus in June, and DeepL can no longer be found in the Russian App Store. In 2026 Oct 11, a developer named Marius Stoica published a translation app called “DeepL Translate - AI Assistant” in the Russian store and “DeTranslate AI” in the US store. Three weeks later it reached #19 in the Russian Reference category free chart. Its rise had nothing to do with product quality. It worked because it took a brand name nobody was using. Below: how it did it, how small the scale is, and why I don't recommend copying it.
Search “DeepL” in the Russian store and this is the first result
Nov 6: searching “deepl” on the Russian App Store, the top result is this app, followed by Google Translate, Yandex Translate, and DeepSeek. Searching the Russian transliteration “дипл” gives the same result. The official DeepL is not available in the Russian store (an id lookup against the Russian storefront returns nothing), so a Russian user looking for DeepL sees this as the closest match.
The key point is that it uses this name in only one place. The same app's English metadata reads “DeTranslate AI – AI Translator & Voice Chat.” Only the Russian localization says “DeepL Translate,” with the subtitle “ИИ переводчик и общение” (AI translator and conversation). Where the official DeepL app is available, it uses a borderline name and avoids confronting the original. Where the original is absent, it uses its own name. This is inferred to be deliberate store-by-store naming, meant to reduce the risk of complaints.
It charted before it had a single rating
| Date | Russian Reference category, free chart | Total ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 10-28 | #37 | 0 |
| 11-01 | #38 | 3 |
| 11-03 | #19 | 7 |
| 11-04 | #21 | 11 |
| 11-06 | #24 | 12 (store page 3.7 stars) |
On Oct 28 it had zero ratings yet was already #37. Downloads came first and ratings came later, and the downloads most likely came from people searching “DeepL.” Note also that the Russian Reference chart has a very low barrier: on the same day, #4 had only 69 ratings and #10 had only 7. Ranks #19–24 likely correspond to a few dozen to one or two hundred downloads per day. It has never charted on any top grossing chart.
How the rating was built
The reviews you can see in the store: 7 reviews with 5 stars clustered between Oct 29 and Nov 1, written in similar ways and all praising "voice and text both translate", "sounds like a real person", "great translation quality". One tells a story: "A distant relative visited from the US, and I don't speak any English at all. It's what got us talking." This is a common pattern in review swaps or paid five-star reviews in the Russian store (inferred). After Nov 4 the rating basically stopped going up.
Two 1-star reviews look like real users:
Text is unreadable, and it asks you to subscribe the moment you open it, without even explaining how to use it.
Bad interface, lots of bugs, not recommended.
It also updates often: from Oct 11 to Nov 4 it shipped 1.0 to 1.6 versions, 7 in total, and every release note says "bug fixes, performance improvements". The latest one says "compatible with iPhone Duo". That rhythm most likely means repeated tweaking of keywords, screenshots, or the paywall (inferred).
Where the money comes from: subscriptions plus tokens, at a high price point
Free to download, but it throws a subscription paywall the moment you open it. Here are the in-app purchases listed on its Russian store page 11-06:
| Project | Pricing |
|---|---|
| premium | 449₽ / 599₽ / 4,490₽ |
| tokens | 899₽ / 1,790₽ / 2,990₽ / 4,990₽ / 8,990₽ |
449₽ roughly 5–6 USD, 4,490₽ about 55 USD (at current exchange rates). The store page doesn't say which billing periods exist or what each costs. The top 8,990₽ token pack suggests it is hoping to pull big money from a few people. But the Russian App Store can't take international cards, so payment mostly runs through phone-bill balances, which drags conversion down (unverified). With downloads this small, revenue is likely small too.
Who it's competing with
| Competitors | Scale (Russia) | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Яндекс Переводчик | Reference, free chart #275k rating | Free, the local leader, and the best Russian translation |
| Google Translate | Free chart #329k rating | Free, still works in Russia |
| Translate Now(Air Apps) | Free chart #711k rating | A subscription translation app of the same kind, running for years, not riding anyone's brand name |
| Переводчик Now: Голос и Фото | Reference, Top Grossing #1,404 rating | The one in its category actually making money, through the paywall and conversion, not the brand name |
| Reverso Context, PROMT.One | Top Grossing #4 / #93 | Established paid translators with their own features like context example sentences and dictionaries |
| Deep Translate, Web Translator for DeepL | 3 ratings each | Launched under similar names 2022 years ago and never took off |
The last row is worth a closer look: a name containing "Deep" or saying "for DeepL" isn't enough. It has to be called "DeepL Translate" directly to rank first in search results. Some are doing this on the web too: pr-cy.ru has a page titled "DeepL translator (Дипл) free alternative" that pitches working in Russia without a VPN.
Why it took off
Three things drove it. First, the original brand pulled out of a market because of sanctions, and Russian-speaking users still remember it (plenty of people lament it on Russian media and forums). Second, searching the name in the local store turns up no original. Third, its category chart has such a low bar that a few dozen downloads can get it charted. The product itself isn't the reason; real user reviews complain about the bad interface and the upfront paywall.
Having all three at once is also where the risk sits: it directly uses another company's trademark, which violates Apple's App Review Guidelines 5.2, and one complaint to DeepL could get it pulled. And since the original isn't on the Russian store, it can't claim "I'm just a similar app" to clear itself.
If it were you
Grade D. Understand the idea, but don't copy it. What it has captured is a borrowed trademark, something followers can't get and that can be taken back at any time; its traffic is only dozens to a hundred-odd downloads a day.
Who it suits: ASO practitioners can take one lesson from it, how to spot the gap where "the original has exited, the brand is still remembered, and the local store search returns nothing".
Who it doesn't suit: anyone aiming to earn subscriptions in Russia by riding the DeepL name. You'd rank behind it, you'd be stuck with two knockoffs fighting over one search term, you'd carry the same infringement and takedown risk, and your payment channel is narrow.
How to do it (the clean version): treat the gap as a product-selection signal, not a trademark to use. Look for markets where a well-known overseas product has pulled out or been blocked, such as Russia, Iran, or China, in AI writing, translation, note-taking, or design tools, and check who turns up when you search the original name in that local store. If the results are only knockoffs or nothing decent, build a product with its own name, and use descriptive wording like "X alternative" or "works in Russia" in the title and description to catch that search traffic.
How to acquire users: rely on store search. Russia has no Apple Search Ads (discontinued in 2022), so you can't buy in-store traffic. Before listing, check the target keywords' results with Apple's search endpoint, and estimate how much volume the category chart needs using the 11-06 threshold.
Is there a window to hurry? No deadline. Gaps like this always exist, and each new sanction or withdrawal opens another one.
Signs you've misread it: ① it is still in the top 30 of the Russian reference category in December and its rating is still climbing, meaning DeepL isn't pursuing it and the gap is sturdier than it looks; ② it climbs into the Russian reference Top Grossing chart, meaning phone-bill payments collect real money and revenue is bigger than estimated; ③ several same-named knockoffs show up within a month, meaning many others have spotted the play and the space is already crowded.
Research notes: competitor table, acquisition evidence, full research report
- Competitors
Name Where Launched Scale How it differs from this one DeepL Translate (official, DeepL SE) iOS 2021-04 Japan store #34k, Germany #31k, US #13k ratings; removed from the Russian store (lookup returns 0) The original 2025-06 pulled out of Russia and Belarus; this app borrows its name to fill the gap Яндекс Переводчик iOS 2012-12 Russian reference free chart #275k rating The free local leader; this app's only hook is the DeepL name Google Переводчик iOS 2011-02 Russian reference free chart #329k rating Free, still available in Russia Переводчик - Translate Now(Air Apps) iOS 2018-03 Russian reference free chart #711k rating A subscription translation wrapper of the same kind, but established and large, and not riding a name Переводчик Now: Голос и Фото(DigitalSail HK) iOS 2025-02 Russian reference Top Grossing #1,404 rating The one among similar wrappers actually making money, through the paywall and conversion, not brand squatting Reverso Context / PROMT.One iOS 2011–2014 Russian reference Top Grossing #4 / #93 Established paid translator with unique features like dictionaries and context example sentences pr-cy.ru DeepL alternative Web Not verified Unknown The same play, in web SEO form iOS system translation Big-company features iOS 14+ Built in Free, but quality and brand recognition trail DeepL - Where users come from
- Verified Store search + brand-name squatting (renamed per storefront): Russian name DeepL Translate, US name DeTranslate AI (Apple developer page); no official DeepL on the Russian store; at 0 rating it was #37 in the reference category
- Inferred review farming / incentivized ratings: 7 near-identical 5-star reviews clustered between 10-29 and 11-01 (review table), after which the rating stopped climbing
- Inferred Frequent releases for ASO: 7 versions in three weeks, release notes all boilerplate (store version history)
- Inferred Ads / social / influencers: none found; Russia has no Apple Search Ads
DeepL Translate - AI Assistant (ios_6818110250) research report
Research date 2026-11-06. Sources: our own appstore database (app_profile / app_day / review, from 2026-10-28), Apple store pages (read via r.jina.ai), iTunes lookup, Jina web search, x-radar.
Bottom line
This is a wrapper AI translation app that fills a gap left by an original brand's exit by squatting on the DeepL name in store search on the Russian store, plus a subscription paywall. It took off for two reasons: DeepL officially stopped service in Russia and Belarus from 2025-06, so no official DeepL remains on the Russian App Store; and the entry bar for the Russian reference free chart is very low. The product has no real differentiation and is small in scale (12 ratings, ranked #19–38 in the reference free chart).
1. What it is
- Names: Russian store "DeepL Translate - AI Assistant", subtitle "ИИ переводчик и общение" (AI translation and conversation). The same app on the US store (id6818110250) is called "DeTranslate AI – AI Translator & Voice Chat" (developer page apps.apple.com/us/developer/marius-stoica/id6818110252). So only the Russian-localized metadata uses "DeepL", while the English primary name is a borderline alternative. This is name-riding done per storefront: the original's name where DeepL has no official app, and avoiding it where DeepL has one, to lower the risk of a takedown complaint.
- Developer "Marius Stoica", with this app as the only listing; privacy policy hosted on Google Docs (Russian store page). Size 9.2–9.3 MB, iPhone only, languages EN/RU, 16+, free download with in-app purchases.
- Features (per description): instant text translation, real-time conversation mode, context-aware translation, multiple styles, voice / photo / camera translation. Looks like a generic wrapper around a large-model API.
- Versions: 1.0 (10-11), 1.1 (10-16), 1.2 (10-21), 1.3 (10-23), 1.4 (10-28), 1.5 (around 11-03), 1.6 (11-05, "адаптация под IPhone Duo"). The release notes are all boilerplate ("bug fixes, performance improvements"), and it ships a new version every 2–5 days (Russian store version history). That rhythm usually means frequent keyword and screenshot changes for ASO, or paywall tuning.
2. Data (own appstore library)
| Date | Russian Reference category, free chart | Total ratings | New |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-28 | 37 | 0 | – |
| 10-31 | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| 11-01 | 38 | 3 | 3 |
| 11-03 | 19 | 7 | 4 |
| 11-04 | 21 | 11 | 4 |
| 11-05 | 22 (also #205 in the Ukraine store's Reference category) | 11 | 0 |
| 11-06 | 24 | 11 | 0 |
- Key point: with 10-28 or 0 ratings, it was already #37 on the Reference category's Top Free chart. That means downloads came before any rating push, and the likely source is Russian-store users searching for "DeepL".
- The Russian Reference category has a very low bar. The top of the same chart is ПДД driving test (336k ratings), Яндекс Переводчик (275k ratings), Google Translate (329k ratings); #4 "Дом Ключ" has only 69 ratings, and #10 Lok L0ck has only 7 ratings (appstore library app_profile, ru, Reference free chart). So #19–24 on this chart probably corresponds to a few dozen to a couple hundred downloads a day, a very small scale.
- It has not entered any top-grossing chart, so its revenue can't be seen.
3. Reviews: clear signs of prompted or purchased positive reviews
The library holds 9 reviews in total (review table):
- 7 are 5-star, concentrated between 10-29 and 11-01, all on v1.4. The wording is highly uniform, repeating "голосом, и текстом" (translates both voice and text), "звучит как живой / естественный" (sounds like a real person speaking), "качественные переводы" (good translation quality), plus a personal backstory ("my distant American relatives arrived and I used it to communicate"). This is the common style of Russian-market review exchanges and paid review services.
- 2 1-star (11-01): "The font is hard to read, and it pushes a subscription the moment you open it, I don't even know how to use it" and "Terrible interface, lots of bugs." These two read more like real users: opening the app hits a hard paywall, and the product experience is poor.
- Current store page rating: 3.7 / 12 ratings.
4. Competitors
| Competitors | Platform | Launched | Scale (Russia, appstore library) | How it differs from this one |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepL Translate (official, DeepL SE) | iOS / web / desktop | 2021-04 | Tens of thousands of ratings worldwide (Japan store 34k, German store 31k, US store 13k); does not exist in the Russian store (iTunes lookup country=ru returns 0 results) | The official service stopped serving Russia and Belarus starting 2025-06-17/18 (DW, T-J, Russian Wikipedia); this app is filling that gap |
| Яндекс Переводчик | iOS | 2012 | Reference free chart at 275k ratings, +7 in 83 days | Local leader, free, strongest in Russian; this app's only hook is the name "DeepL" |
| Google Переводчик | iOS | 2011 | #329k ratings | Free, still usable |
| Переводчик - Translate Now(Air Apps) | iOS | 2018 | #711k ratings | Also a subscription-based general translation shell, but has been around longer and at larger scale |
| Переводчик Now: Голос и Фото(DigitalSail HK) | iOS | 2025-02 | Top grossing in the Reference category at #1,404 by ratings | The one actually making money among the subscription translation shells; it runs on paid acquisition and paywalls, not on riding the name |
| Reverso Context, PROMT.One, Говори и Переводи, AI Phone call translation | iOS | 2011–2023 | Reference top grossing #4 / #93 / #81 / #18 | Established paid translation apps, each with its own feature positioning |
| pr-cy.ru/app/deepl("DeepL переводчик (Дипл) — бесплатный аналог") | Web | Not verified | Unknown | The web version also uses the DeepL name for SEO, pitching "works in Russia without a VPN"; it's the same playbook as this app, moved to the web |
| iOS system translation / live translation | Big-company features | iOS 14+ | Built in | Free; from iOS 18.4 you can also set DeepL as the default translation app (kod.ru), but the official DeepL can't be installed in the Russian store |
5. Growth tactics
- Store search + brand-name squatting (main channel, strong evidence): the Russian localized name is "DeepL Translate", the English main name is "DeTranslate AI", showing the name was changed per market; the official app can't be found in the Russian store; it was already #37 on the Reference chart when it had 0 ratings. A Russian user searching "DeepL" / "дипл" finds this as the most official-looking result.
- Rating manipulation / prompted positive reviews (strong evidence): 7 5-star reviews with near-identical wording appeared within 4 days, after which growth stalled at 11–12 ratings.
- Frequent releases for ASO: 7 versions in three weeks, with boilerplate release notes (inference; can't directly verify which keywords it changed).
- Ads, influencers, social media: none found. x-radar searches for "DeTranslate" and "DeepL Russia" return 30 posts each over the last 0 days; Jina search for "DeTranslate AI" returns no external coverage. Apple Search Ads in Russia have been shut down since 2022, and in-store paid acquisition wasn't available there anyway.
- Monetization: free download, with a subscription wall that pops up on open (quote from the 1-star review). Price tiers weren't obtained (the store page shows no in-app purchase list; unverified). Also, the Russian App Store payment channels are restricted (international cards don't work, payment mainly through phone balance), which likely depresses conversion; not verified.
6. Why it took off
- Timing / platform event: DeepL withdrew from Russia and Belarus in 2025-06, but its brand recognition among Russian-speaking users remains (T-J, setka and others have users lamenting it). People still search the name in 2026, and the real app is absent from the Russian App Store.
- Distribution playbook: set localized names per store to ride the brand, add a small amount of rating padding, and you can reach the top 25 in a category with a very low bar.
- The product itself: not the reason. Real reviews complain about the experience and the paywall.
7. Differentiation
No product-level differentiation. Its only "differentiator" is holding the "DeepL" name in the Russian market. That is the entire reason it shows up on the chart, and also its biggest risk: a trademark infringement complaint would get it removed, and since the official app isn't in the Russian store, there's no "the real one is right here" hedge.
8. Visibility and copycats
- Visibility: few people know about it yet. No media coverage, no discussion on X, no TrustMRR record, and revenue is not public.
- Copycats: no second iOS clone using the DeepL name in the Russian store was found (the appstore library search for recent new apps with "deep" in the name). On the web, pr-cy.ru is already using the same name for SEO, a different form but the same playbook.
9. Takeaways
The combination "original maker exits a market due to sanctions or policy + brand recognition remains + the real product can't be found in that country's store" can be searched in bulk, e.g. gaps for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Notion, Grammarly in Russia, Iran, mainland China and other markets. Setting localized names per store (main English name borderline, localized name using the original brand) can lower the chance of global complaints. To be clear: using someone else's trademark directly is infringement, violates Apple's App Review Guidelines 5.2, and can get the app pulled at any time. This template earns short-term traffic and can't build a lasting business. If you want to borrow from it, the clean approach is to capture this search traffic with descriptive keywords like "XX alternative / AI translation usable in Russia".
10. Uncertain
- Actual download and revenue numbers (it never made the top-grossing chart; probably very small).
- Subscription prices and the specific form of the paywall.
- The developer's real identity: "Marius Stoica" is a common name in Romania, possibly a personal account registered on someone's behalf; unverified.
- Whether DeepL will file a complaint and get it removed; ratings stopped growing around 11-05, consistent with the inference that rating padding stopped, but this can't be confirmed either.