Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Developer account removed by Apple

seraleev.notion.site

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 457 posts

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#2

Post by EwanG »

Honestly, after looking through the "apps" they created and what little I could find about reviews for them, I am having a hard time not feeling that Apple was in the right here.

On the other hand, I certainly understand that having your business shut down with little or no notice and right of appeal lies with the "prosecution" can feel crummy.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#3

Post by dado3212 »

EwanG wrote: post #2

Honestly, after looking through the "apps" they created and what little I could find about reviews for them, I am having a hard time not feeling that Apple was in the right here. On the other hand, I certainly understand that having your business shut down with little or no notice and right of appeal lies with the "prosecution" can feel crummy.

What makes you say that? The article is light on details about what the apps actually do, and why they might be violating.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#5

Post by adriand »

EwanG wrote: post #2

Honestly, after looking through the "apps" they created and what little I could find about reviews for them, I am having a hard time not feeling that Apple was in the right here. On the other hand, I certainly understand that having your business shut down with little or no notice and right of appeal lies with the "prosecution" can feel crummy.

Seems like an unfair comment. I've had their Boomerang app on my phone for a long time. Made some fun stuff with it in the past, haven't used it in a while, but there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it. Just another niche app.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#7

Post by ceejayoz »

adriand wrote: post #5
EwanG wrote: post #2

Honestly, after looking through the "apps" they created and what little I could find about reviews for them, I am having a hard time not feeling that Apple was in the right here. On the other hand, I certainly understand that having your business shut down with little or no notice and right of appeal lies with the "prosecution" can feel crummy.

Seems like an unfair comment. I've had their Boomerang app on my phone for a long time. Made some fun stuff with it in the past, haven't used it in a while, but there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it. Just another niche app.

I don’t think the Boomerang app is theirs. It doesn’t show up in the link of their Google Play apps.

If it is, that’s Instagram’s trademark.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#8

Post by Manuel_D »

If the fake reviews are indeed the reason why the apps were taken off the store, that does strike me as an inappropriate action. Take down the reviews, yes. But closing the developer account creates a big opportunity to eliminate competition by buying fake reviews for your competitors. There's also nothing developers can do to prevent this since they can't curate or reject reviews from what I know.

That said, other commenters are pointing out a very large revenue figure relative to the popularity of these apps. That smells more like money laundering or fraud. In that scenario, Apple should have been more specific in their communications.

Post reply on HN