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It's extremely easy, but it also is extremely easy to get permanently banned if they find out you "switched on" a hidden feature once the app got into productio

It's extremely easy, but it also is extremely easy to get permanently banned if they find out you "switched on" a hidden feature once the app got into production. A permanent ban can be very damaging, so one needs to make sure to be completely legit when it comes to app store submission reviews and app store ratings

tyingq 5y ago
I wonder how this works with webviews. Do they expect you to resubmit the same binary if a page displayed in a webview changes?
- Hamuko 5y ago
  Isn't that how Fortnite did Project Liberty?
amacneil 5y ago
Can confirm. We got the Coinbase iOS app banned for doing this back in the day, when Apple did not allow bitcoin apps (IIRC showing the price was ok, transacting was not). Even after they relaxed their bitcoin restrictions (and calls to the head of app store), they still made us wait out the 12 month ban before reinstating the app. https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-bitcoin-app-apple-app-store https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-bitcoin-app-apple-app-stor... https://venturebeat.com/2014/12/14/bitcoin-wallet-coinbase-now-has-an-official-ios-app/ https://venturebeat.com/2014/12/14/bitcoin-wallet-coinbase-n...
- asddubs 5y ago
  I wonder how they confirm this happened. Do they store a video of the review and cross reference on suspicion?
  - kelnos 5y ago
    Given that Apple has no oversight at all here, they can do whatever they want. If an app makes it through review, but has forbidden functionality, Apple will just assume that the developer hid that functionality for the review process, and ban them. Doesn't matter if the approval was due to a mistake on the reviewer's part. Apple won't care.
- jimnotgym 5y ago
  > Apple did not allow bitcoin apps This is what is wrong with walled gardens, laws should be made by lawmakers, not Apple.
  - buran77 5y ago
    Who said anything about laws? Apple's rules are no different from HN's rules. And for that matter, your house rules. They're arbitrary decisions to the liking of the respective party. They just have to not be against the law themselves. If they are problematic the solution isn't to generically "ban rules" (saying it out loud already hints at the "value" of this proposition) but to change the law to prohibit certain rules.
    - reader_mode 5y ago
      This is a super naive analogy - HN doesn't serve close to 50% of the US market, nor is it a platform through which billions of dollars transact. If it did very different rules apply, rightfully so, scale matters, market position matters - from Apple profit margins it's obvious they are abusing monopolistic position.
      - buran77 5y ago
        It's only naive because you chose the naive interpretation, based on sentiment and you not understanding the massive difference between laws and a company's rules. Until you understand what they are, and who decides if rules are against the law or not, mentioning "profit", "scale", "market position", and "different rules apply" doesn't get you closer to the point. I'll take it down a couple of notches to make it easier: HN could serve every user under the Sun and still be entitled to have a (perfectly legal) rule that says "Don't solicit upvotes". No amount of "oh but at their scale" will change that. Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. or any company actually do not write laws (they lobby and bribe for them but that's a different can of worms). They just write their own rules for their own products and services. Those rules have to be within the law and even if common sense and current evidence may say they break the law, it's up to a judge in an antitrust lawsuit to decide.
    - 5y ago

tyingq 5y ago

I wonder how this works with webviews. Do they expect you to resubmit the same binary if a page displayed in a webview changes?

Hamuko 5y ago
Isn't that how Fortnite did Project Liberty?

amacneil 5y ago

Can confirm. We got the Coinbase iOS app banned for doing this back in the day, when Apple did not allow bitcoin apps (IIRC showing the price was ok, transacting was not). Even after they relaxed their bitcoin restrictions (and calls to the head of app store), they still made us wait out the 12 month ban before reinstating the app. https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-bitcoin-app-apple-app-store https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-bitcoin-app-apple-app-stor... https://venturebeat.com/2014/12/14/bitcoin-wallet-coinbase-now-has-an-official-ios-app/ https://venturebeat.com/2014/12/14/bitcoin-wallet-coinbase-n...

asddubs 5y ago
I wonder how they confirm this happened. Do they store a video of the review and cross reference on suspicion?
- kelnos 5y ago
  Given that Apple has no oversight at all here, they can do whatever they want. If an app makes it through review, but has forbidden functionality, Apple will just assume that the developer hid that functionality for the review process, and ban them. Doesn't matter if the approval was due to a mistake on the reviewer's part. Apple won't care.
jimnotgym 5y ago
> Apple did not allow bitcoin apps This is what is wrong with walled gardens, laws should be made by lawmakers, not Apple.
- buran77 5y ago
  Who said anything about laws? Apple's rules are no different from HN's rules. And for that matter, your house rules. They're arbitrary decisions to the liking of the respective party. They just have to not be against the law themselves. If they are problematic the solution isn't to generically "ban rules" (saying it out loud already hints at the "value" of this proposition) but to change the law to prohibit certain rules.
  - reader_mode 5y ago
    This is a super naive analogy - HN doesn't serve close to 50% of the US market, nor is it a platform through which billions of dollars transact. If it did very different rules apply, rightfully so, scale matters, market position matters - from Apple profit margins it's obvious they are abusing monopolistic position.
    - buran77 5y ago
      It's only naive because you chose the naive interpretation, based on sentiment and you not understanding the massive difference between laws and a company's rules. Until you understand what they are, and who decides if rules are against the law or not, mentioning "profit", "scale", "market position", and "different rules apply" doesn't get you closer to the point. I'll take it down a couple of notches to make it easier: HN could serve every user under the Sun and still be entitled to have a (perfectly legal) rule that says "Don't solicit upvotes". No amount of "oh but at their scale" will change that. Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. or any company actually do not write laws (they lobby and bribe for them but that's a different can of worms). They just write their own rules for their own products and services. Those rules have to be within the law and even if common sense and current evidence may say they break the law, it's up to a judge in an antitrust lawsuit to decide.
  - 5y ago