iDOS 3 Still Rejected From the App Store, Despite UTM
Appeal was rejected by App Review Board: “We understand that you might disagree with our findings. However, the app still provides emulator functionality but is not emulating a retro game console specifically. Only emulators of retro game consoles are appropriate per guideline 4.7.” As to why UTM was approved but not iDOS, they wrote: “If you believe that you have identified apps that don’t comply with the App Review Guidelines, you may use the Report an app form at any time to report trust and safety concerns for apps on the App Store.” Thanks, but no, that is ridiculous, I have zero concern about trust and safety running an emulator.
This is so bogus. UTM SE gets into the App Store after it was accepted into @rileytestut’s Alt Store but iDOS 3 is still not allowed. Just bogus.
Our app Sticky has been rejected based on guideline 4.7 too. We are a social media app and included HTML5 games. Apple kept claiming that “offering HTML5 games appears to be the primary purpose of your app” which is not the case (certainly not in the update we are submitting) as we have several other features with equal weight. The changes to guideline 4.7 which allow HTML5 mini-games or mini-apps and which allow emulators were made in late January of this year, shortly before the US DOJ antitrust suit, where these issues are central, was filed (March). I imagine Apple changed the guideline for a legal or PR reason related to that suit, but does not really want to follow its own updated guidelines and so is finding every excuse it possibly can to reject emulators and apps with HTML5 mini-games/mini-apps. In our case, after the appeal, we were called up by someone from Apple who started the call saying they did not consent to it being recorded (how’s that for inspiring trust?), who walked-back what they had said about HTML5 (and of course they did not put that in writing in the message they sent afterwards), but then came up with a couple of brand-new reasons for keeping our update off the store: claiming that we had changed the app concept… because our app was different some 4 years ago and hundreds of updates ago when it started! And including mentioning rule 4.7 regarding emulators… which we are not and do not claim to be!
Previously:
- UTM SE Now in the App Store
- Delta 1.6 Rejected From the App Store
- iDOS 3 Rejected From the App Store
- Allowing iOS Game Emulators and Mini Apps
Update (2024-07-22): Craig Grannell (Mastodon):
Apple has been inconsistent in the past with App Store rules and approvals, but this pairing is especially stark and egregious. At this point, I wouldn’t spend a single second developing an emulator for iOS. Which is probably how Apple wants it anyway.
[…]
What gets me is this is all so stupid and unnecessary. There’s clearly reluctance from somewhere senior in Apple about emulators. But then the company sort of changed its mind, yet provided no rules. It instead went for the developer-hostile “we’ll know it when we see it”. Only ‘it’ doesn’t mean anything specific. If it did, we wouldn’t currently have ZX81, C64 and MSX emulators on the App Store, given that they emulate hardware platforms that are not retro gaming consoles.
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I regret what is happening to an excellent IDOS (had a blast replaying The Lost Vikings from a DOS era on my iPad), but Sticky seems to deserve this:
“Apple kept claiming that “offering HTML5 games appears to be the primary purpose of your app” which is not the case”
Literally the first and main point on their website (and a homepage of their app) is:
PLAY GAMES
Loads of fun games in one app
Free to play & no ads
@Tomáš Kafka
Even if it is, why does Apple have a bug up their ass about it? Roblox is largely the same thing, yeah? And Apple makes all types of exceptions for it, right? Game launcher with a marketplace?
