Mobile apps with similar functionality and design may not pass moderation in the App Store
The editors of the App Store, if desired, may refuse to publish the application if they consider the category “oversaturated” and the product devoid of uniqueness.
Developer Rihab Mehboob drew attention to the situation on October 17. He wrote on Twitter that the moderator rejected his flashlight application.
According to the developer, the application had a unique functionality: it was possible to synchronize flashlights on multiple devices. According to Mebub, there is no such function on any similar project in the store.
The moderator’s response stated that the additional functionality of the application does not change the fact that it is still a flashlight, and if so, the developer violated the guidelines of the App Store.
Mobile analyst Eric Seufert drew attention to the situation and found paragraph 4.3 in the guidelines. According to them, it is not necessary to create applications for crowded categories: dating, fortune telling, flashlights, drinking games, and so on. Otherwise it will be classified as spam.
This point of the rules does not apply to the gaming category yet, however, given the oversaturation of the market and the number of clones, Apple can use it at any time if desired.
The company’s policy of double standards may be related to two reasons.
The first is that the Apple corporation is particularly strict about applications that duplicate the functionality of the system (the flashlight is “sewn” in iOS).
The second is simpler. Apple is not engaged in stricter moderation of games, since it earns large sums from clones, among other things. It is not profitable for her to “saw a bitch”.
The problem with apps with similar design and functionality is not new: under Rihab’s tweet, users share similar situations.
https://twitter.com/illusionofcha0s/status/1449771707426816005
There are also many appeals on this issue on the Apple Developer forum: the App Store policy was complained about five years ago.
