Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#51

Post by FakeRemore » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:52 AM UTC

jacobwilliamroy wrote: post #41

noch wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's why I've ditched all of my Apple hardware and went 100% FLOSS years ago. The experience is polished enough for me as a developer to do what I need to do and after I set it up just the way I wanted it, no other setup can touch how productive I am on my Arch setup. For the majority of users, this is irrelevant because linux is unusable for them. And they are the customers. To have a sustainable business, we ha…

Selling software to users? Did you time travel from 1999 or something?

1) There are plenty of paid apps: https://appfigures.com/top-apps/ios-app-store/united-states/...

2) Taking his argument in good faith, he also means "free" apps with microtransactions, because in both cases the same situation exists: The iOS App Store is too big a market to ignore. Which leads to the same problem, regardless of whether your app is paid or "free", that if Apple suddenly decides it doesn't like you, you're screwed.

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#52

Post by rydre » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:54 AM UTC

bsaul wrote: post #9

This kind of post infuriates me. As an iOS developer for 10 years, i can guarantee you that there are probably hundreds (if not thousands) of stories like that, with people getting shut down for no good reason, and having their business killed. It's now so bad people are refraining from trying out innovative business model or apps just because they think there could be a chance someone at apple validation wouldn't li…

>It's now so bad people are refraining from trying out innovative business model or apps just because they think there could be a chance someone at apple validation wouldn't like it and kill the product at any time.

This is very true. I know of many people who have legitimate App ideas that would flourish today had it not been the extreme restrictions that Apple and Google is putting on mobile devices. Sadly, I can testify, that Apple and Google are actively putting obstacles in the way of innovation because it hurts their business models.

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#53

Post by worthless-trash » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:55 AM UTC

mpartel wrote: post #29

bsaul wrote: post #9

This kind of post infuriates me. As an iOS developer for 10 years, i can guarantee you that there are probably hundreds (if not thousands) of stories like that, with people getting shut down for no good reason, and having their business killed. It's now so bad people are refraining from trying out innovative business model or apps just because they think there could be a chance someone at apple validation wouldn't li…

Even if it weren't the only option, the sad reality is that, for most, it'd be financial suicide to not be on the App Store. Compare that to games on PC: even though competition has fortunately started to pick up recently, it'd still be madness not to publish on Steam. All platforms seem to naturally tend towards monopoly, with an enormous first mover advantage. I wish I knew of a solution :/

> it'd be financial suicide to not be on the App Store.

I find it amusing that people and businesses are willing to put their future in the hands of a company that has historically destroyed anyone who gets enough users on their platform.

If this is the best option, I think that the best option would be to actively work with a platform competitor. Do developers have a sense of stockholm syndrome ?

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#54

Post by sabujp » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:56 AM UTC

monokh wrote: post #50

The consequence of playing in a walled garden. Is there still no way to release an iPhone app out with the iOS app store?

yes, you can i heard instacart for example uses their enterprise cert signed app for their drivers/deliverers. Drivers are instructed to go into settings and change things to allow loading that app

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#55

Post by bsaul » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:56 AM UTC

mpartel wrote: post #29

bsaul wrote: post #9

This kind of post infuriates me. As an iOS developer for 10 years, i can guarantee you that there are probably hundreds (if not thousands) of stories like that, with people getting shut down for no good reason, and having their business killed. It's now so bad people are refraining from trying out innovative business model or apps just because they think there could be a chance someone at apple validation wouldn't li…

Even if it weren't the only option, the sad reality is that, for most, it'd be financial suicide to not be on the App Store. Compare that to games on PC: even though competition has fortunately started to pick up recently, it'd still be madness not to publish on Steam. All platforms seem to naturally tend towards monopoly, with an enormous first mover advantage. I wish I knew of a solution :/

I disagree. there are so many constraints today imposed on developers, and so many risks by trying to develop innovating apps, that i think a new ios store would have a lot of interesting apps to offer.

Also, for startups, making sure you have an alternative option to distribute your app in case it gets shut down on apple’s store makes it almost a guarantee that they’ll try to deploy on as many different stores as possible.

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#56

Post by odshoifsdhfs » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:56 AM UTC

chris_wot wrote: post #46

odshoifsdhfs wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was using Testflight to distribute it on his website. This has been a nono to do for a long time. You may not agree with it, but them are the rules.

You are speculating though. Do you know for sure that is the fraudulent activity that Apple are referring to?

No, I can't say for sure, but it is A reason to terminate the account, and since this post is called 'Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason' I believe it is the case. We will never know the real reason as Apple probably won't provide it, but there is a violation of their rules, even if the termination was because something else, they are still entitled to close it based on the violation.

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#57

Post by mrtksn » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:56 AM UTC

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #31

I can only speak for myself, but I have had a number of interactions with the review team, and I have always ended up communicating with a human; although they would often paste “talking points” into their replies. Because of the nature of a couple of my apps, I’ve had them bounced for “providing commonly available services” (i.e. competing with OS tools). In each instance, I have appealed, citing some unique feature…

Yep, I had rejections too and I have always managed come to an understanding with the review team. I even had the reviewer call me to explain why he would reject the app and give me an idea to fix the issue. He even gave me his phone number and working hours so I can call him if I had further questions.

It wasn’t a fun process but I like having a human contact on the other side of the things.

Sometimes I think, people having issues must be omitting some part of the story because I am not a big-time publisher, I have no privilege but at the same time, I don’t have these problems of ”evil Apple destroying the little guy” sort.

"Apple threatens to close my developer account" is a very different situation from Hey's disagreement with the business practices of Apple.

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#58

Post by 0-O-0 » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:57 AM UTC

bsaul wrote: post #9

This kind of post infuriates me. As an iOS developer for 10 years, i can guarantee you that there are probably hundreds (if not thousands) of stories like that, with people getting shut down for no good reason, and having their business killed. It's now so bad people are refraining from trying out innovative business model or apps just because they think there could be a chance someone at apple validation wouldn't li…

I wish the Hey story makes people realise that we can't depend on benevolence of two corporations and should be working on open platforms.

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#59

Post by redis_mlc » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:58 AM UTC

worthless-trash wrote: post #53

mpartel wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if it weren't the only option, the sad reality is that, for most, it'd be financial suicide to not be on the App Store. Compare that to games on PC: even though competition has fortunately started to pick up recently, it'd still be madness not to publish on Steam. All platforms seem to naturally tend towards monopoly, with an enormous first mover advantage. I wish I knew of a solution :/

> it'd be financial suicide to not be on the App Store. I find it amusing that people and businesses are willing to put their future in the hands of a company that has historically destroyed anyone who gets enough users on their platform. If this is the best option, I think that the best option would be to actively work with a platform competitor. Do developers have a sense of stockholm syndrome ?

What's your alternative, since there isn't any, except to completely change your industry or business model?

iOS users are known to pay for apps they like. Android users less so.

Re: Apple is threatening to terminate my developer account with no clear reason

#60

Post by hellofunk » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 9:58 AM UTC

monokh wrote: post #50

The consequence of playing in a walled garden. Is there still no way to release an iPhone app out with the iOS app store?

Not unless you make it open source and require your users to download and compile it to their device with Xcode on their own. Not going to work for most, and without a developer account, they'd have to redeploy to their device every week, since that's how long the license lasts.