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Developer account removed by Apple

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Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#11
post #5
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.

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Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#13
post #7
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Apple allows “for X” and “powered by X” type app names per official policy cited by App Store reviewers

There are other patterns they allow that I’m unfamiliar with. Perhaps “X Maker” is one of them because it appears there are many other developer accounts using this pattern from a quick search.

The point is that using another trademark isn’t itself a violation necessarily

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#14
post #8

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 c…

It's apple punishing you for their own failure to moderate the reviews posted to their store, which they're charging you $100+30% to access.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#15
post #8

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 c…

[deleted]

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#17

Something feels off... those apps don't seem like 33K/MRR worthy. I suspect some kind of manipulation was being done to... help?

One way apps get high MRR is by offering free trial for a small period, then charging for subscriptions later

The user forgets about the subscriptions and ends up paying for a while before cancelling

This is probably what apple means by "bait and switch"

Of course I can't say if these app did this or not, I am just saying this is a common practice

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#18
post #8

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 c…

> In that scenario, Apple should have been more specific in their communications.

Often AML policy prohibits this because it could be constituted as tipping off the offender.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#19
post #8

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 c…

It's apple punishing you for their own failure to moderate the reviews posted to their store, which they're charging you $100+30% to access.

Considering how much data Apple also has on their users, it’s insane that they haven’t yet solved this problem.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#20
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's apple punishing you for their own failure to moderate the reviews posted to their store, which they're charging you $100+30% to access.

Considering how much data Apple also has on their users, it’s insane that they haven’t yet solved this problem.

Why would they if they can keep aka escrow $100k?
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