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Developer account removed by Apple

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Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#271

Post by cesarb »

Sleaker wrote: post #130
api wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Play Store or Steam any better? All these stores are basically little monopolies with zero incentive to not suck. They also suck from a user point of view. Search is terrible, they’re full of shovelware, etc.

Steam isn't a monopoly, it provides ease of catalog and access. smaller companies can still sell on their own website or any other number of storefronts. The gatekeeper here now is generating MS signed apps.

> The gatekeeper here now is generating MS signed apps.

And Valve saw that coming some time ago, and invested in making both Steam and the games sold through it run on Linux.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#272

Post by newaccount74 »

mikepurvis wrote: post #39
namanyayg wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I appreciate that you can cancel the subscription right away at the start of the trial and Apple and the vendor isn't notified.

Curious that this doesn't work for Apple services. If you cancel the free trial, you lose access immediately.

I was a bit disappointed that they don't live up to the standards they expect of 3rd party devs.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#273

Post by ThatPlayer »

jensenbox wrote: post #207

Every time I read one of these stories, the first thought I have is: "We should be pushing to have PWA be more robust and be positioned as a first class citizen". My thinking is that would remove the need for a singular approval process. Liberating all developers to build what they want. Of course security is always a concern. PWA in sandboxes of some sort sounds like the best path forward.

The problem is Apple still control the only browser engine on iOS. So they're incentivised to not implement proper PWA features to prevent this and force everything to be apps through their store.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#274

Post by callalex »

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.

Then why is Apple keeping the money instead of refunding it?

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#275

Post by munk-a »

terminous wrote: post #239
munk-a wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Apple isn't able to police this then maybe it's unhealthy for the market to be completely controlled by them. They make billions off the AppStore and their refusal to reinvest in proper moderation (especially for an app worth hundreds of thousands in revenue) is quite telling.

This isn't an Apple problem, it's a problem with every business review platform. If a shady marketing firm takes a contract to give an app fake 5 star reviews, there's no way for the review platform to know if that shady marketing firm was hired by the app's developer or their competitor. Only the marketing firm knows.

There is a way for the platform to handle that scenario... Manual review. Apple chooses not to rely on manual review and we shouldn't discount this decision of theirs.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#276

Post by rndmwlk »

moralestapia wrote: post #117
mortallywounded wrote: post #4

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

>those apps don't seem like 33K/MRR worthy It's 6 of them, so more like ~5K USD/month revenue. I'm sorry that you've never built something meaningful, but that revenue bracket is actually low for a decent app with some marketing going on.

I can only hope to one day build something as meaningful as "Fontly Color Fonts." Alas, there can only be so many geniuses capable of sculpting meaning out of the chaos that is the aether.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#277

Post by SpaceManNabs »

namanyayg wrote: post #17
mortallywounded wrote: post #4

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

The developer might be scummy (very arguable tbh), but Apple being the arbitrator of what scummy bait and switch behavior is allowed is not acceptable.

I don't see apple going after gambling like behavior in freemium games as long as they get a 30% cut for example.

If apple can't enforce an ethical stance as a standard uniformly, then they aren't being ethical.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#278

Post by cptaj »

Longhanks wrote: post #141
cptaj wrote: post #112

This keeps happening again and again in all online marketplaces. Be it amazon, ebay, app stores, etc. This NEEDS to be regulated. If thousands of companies make a living in your marketplace, you simply can't be allowed to take destructive unilateral action against their business without due process. One guy reviewing tickets in a random location worldwide, working for minimum wage, takes a 30 second look at your case…

> This is simply an insane way of doing business. Then don't? Apple clearly lays out the rules beforehand? I don’t see how "being able to sell software on the platform a company allows you to sell on yet not following the platform creator's rules" should be a human right? If you don't want to take the risk of Apple disapproving you selling your software on their platform, maybe don't start a business depending on App…

I get your point but I think you're being too simplistic and also focusing on this particular case when I was talking about broad industry practices.

Some marketplaces are so big that not participating is simply not an option. Do you want to break them up instead?

I think they should be treated as utilities after a certain size and have a suitable legal framework to solve these issues.

Lots of things in commerce are not human rights but are regulated to prevent bad outcomes for society.

Is due process really that much to ask for? Shouldn't you be allowed to defend yourself BEFORE they take away your livelihood? Why is apple allowed to unilaterally freeze your funds but banks are very notoriously not allowed to do that? Why does paypal also freeze your assets without any regulation? This happens all over the place and I think it shouldn't.

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#279

Post by geoffpado »

rchaud wrote: post #261
rafram wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google can’t figure out how to make money without ads They can and they have. YouTube Premium exists! You can pay for it! The two business models that are feasible for YouTube are (1) free and you have to see ads and (2) paid and you don’t have to see ads. They offer both. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect to be allowed to pick (1) but opt out of the ad side of the bargain. Their ad-blocking shenanigans are o…

> They can and they have. YouTube Premium exists! You can pay for it! No they haven't. YT Premium price goes up by a significant amount each year, without a corresponding increase in value. That's not a business model, it's an experiment to see what the profitability price point is. If they knew what it was, they could go Netflix and make it paid-only. But then they'd lose out on all the sweet sweet ad revenue which…

Not even Netflix is paid-only any more…

Re: Developer account removed by Apple

#280

Post by cptaj »

Longhanks wrote: post #234
n6242 wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a warranty or a return policy is not a human right either, yet companies are obligated by law to do it (at least here in Europe) because otherwise companies would just say "you knew what you were getting when you bought it" and not give a damn as long as they profit from it, just like apple is doing here.

You can only claim the warranty if you follow rules, such as: You didn’t willingly break the item. Violating this rule weaves the right to return the item (and getting your money back). So why should Apple be forced to keep you on their platform if you willingly break their rules?

They're not forced, but you should have a chance to defend yourself before they unilaterally take away your livelihood.

Mistakes DO happen, yknow?

Also, why are they freezing funds when banks cant do that? Seems illogical.

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