You've hit on the exact right questions, and I agree with your analysis.

Regarding the origin story and copy, you're probably right that it's not the final reason someone clicks "buy." Its value is at the top of the marketing funnel—it's the hook that makes someone stop scrolling and consider an app from an unknown indie dev in the first place. It builds enough initial trust for them to actually look at the screenshots and features.

And thanks for the point about the DMCA—I will definitely be looking into that for the most blatant copycats.

I can only speak for myself, but when I'm looking for apps, the hierarchy of needs is something like:

1. Does it solve the underlying problem

2. Am I a standard or outlier user of the product

3. Does it make it easy to get it / use it

4. Is it from a company/developer that I like

I'm obviously not going to use an app that doesn't solve the original goal. Beyond that, some examples of things that have made me go chasing for other alternatives:

1. Updating the app isn't automated -- I use a window manager on Windows where updates have to be manually downloaded and run, and every time I update I google if there's a viable replacement.

2. The app has a bunch of fluff -- I'm currently trying a couple new apps for logging infant activity like diaper changes / feeds, and 90% of the options can do the task but are covered in other buttons/options/reports that I do not care about.

3. I'm clearly not the target audience for the developer -- I use Anydesk for remote management of some Windows desktops but all their plans are clearly enterprise/prosumer-focused and I'm actively preparing for them to kill off my plan level or break the functionality.