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Hmm, ages ago we added a cannabis related app on Apple/iOS -- and there were loads of other (small-ish) already on there -- to help grow, or find (to buy) or to

Hmm, ages ago we added a cannabis related app on Apple/iOS -- and there were loads of other (small-ish) already on there -- to help grow, or find (to buy) or to review cannabis products. Ours was for regualtory compliance -- a legal obligation for cannabis businesses. REJECTED! And after a 6mo appeal/review process -- with moving goal-posts -- we were allowed back in. YAY. And then they started getting into the application and making demands -- one was to use their payment systems -- which was BS, because our clients get into the App, and use it most of the time outside of Apple devices (ie: Desktop in Browser). So another round, 3mo later and they'd not force the payment issue. And the next review required us to remove any details about pricing from our application -- not our app pricing -- but the pricing for the inventory under management. So, users, in-app, couldn't see the regulatory compliance data: price of product sold; in the APP. But we pushed through! and finally got published in the App Store!! Yay! And one month later we had to renew our Apple Developer -- cause this whole thing took 11 months of back/forth with Apple. Then we got clients using it (finally!) and the clients were all grumpy cause the features were gone. Then another two more years with us trying to Apple trying to improve our App. An last year, we just bailed on the App Store and have given up. What's super frustrating is since we initially tried our process (starting in 2016) -- other cannabis apps, with pricing and online ordering and all this stuff that we were NOT allowed to do are in the store.

ghostly_s 5y ago
What regulation requires you to publish an app? That strikes me as very unusual.
- openthc 5y ago
  Nothing requires us to publish an app -- but when you make LOB software, the user-base is like "where's the App?" -- so you build one. It's not a strict, absolute requirement -- it's a de-facto requirement (like passing to the left)
  - ghostly_s 5y ago
    what? how does that have anything to do with regulatory compliance then?
    - openthc 5y ago
      I don't think you get it; I'll try again. - Our app was for business regulatory compliance obligation. - Our clients asked for us to get into the App store (customers love that shit for some reason) - The process sucked for us. I seems like you think we had a regulatory compliance obligation to be in the App store -- we did not; and do not. I only got into this thread because dealing with Apple sucks -- and sucked for us especially hard.
  - jordanthoms 5y ago
    Did you try with a PWA? Discoverability can be hard vs having an App Store listing but I wonder if that would satisfy your user-base if you made it into a nice experience
    - openthc 5y ago
      Since our struggles (starting in 2016) for this ; feature sets on mobile browsers have improved -- and we've learned more too -- we've mostly dropped "App" type support and have it 99% Bowser based. The only thing we're not able to get now -- but also no longer NEED -- is tight integration with Bluetooth IR/NFC/RFID type scanners ( the Socket Mobile is very popular in our universe -- https://store.socketmobile.com/products/durascan-d750-universalplus-barcode-scanner https://store.socketmobile.com/products/durascan-d750-univer... ) As for Android -- Google is also Cannabis hostile but side-loading onto Android is a breeze (by comparison to iOS)
FourHand451 5y ago
It's kind of sad that we went from "there's an app for that" to Apple themselves being a huge obstacle to making useful, feature-rich mobile software. I used to think writing an app would be a fun side project or that a job in mobile development could be cool. These days I don't want to touch it with a six foot pole.
spaetzleesser 5y ago
We really have to get away from having only a few mega-powerful providers for such services to having smaller providers that actually compete with each other. It's insane that Apple has full control of what goes onto devices that have such a significant market share. The app store(s) should be run by different that do the app reviews and allow apps by their own guidelines. So if you want a cannabis or porn app you can go to an app store that allows these apps and if you like a more family friendly store you go to another app store. The censorship abilities these companies have is just too much. I don't like Trump but it really bothered me that Facebook and Twitter blocked him. If the block the US president how many smaller guys are being censored and you never will know?
- datavirtue 5y ago
  Content and distribution by a single entity...keeps rearing its head.
sneak 5y ago
> Ours was for regualtory compliance -- a legal obligation for cannabis businesses. Cannabis businesses are illegal to operate in the United States, where Apple resides. Possession and distribution of cannabis is a federal felony in all 50 states and US territories. This is an issue with the United States, not with Apple. The lack of side loading is an Apple issue, but if you are going to make that argument (and you should!) then the cannabis app rejection is a red herring.
coupdejarnac 5y ago
Who the fuck has time for this bullshit? I don't miss developing mobile apps.

ghostly_s 5y ago

What regulation requires you to publish an app? That strikes me as very unusual.

openthc 5y ago
Nothing requires us to publish an app -- but when you make LOB software, the user-base is like "where's the App?" -- so you build one. It's not a strict, absolute requirement -- it's a de-facto requirement (like passing to the left)
- ghostly_s 5y ago
  what? how does that have anything to do with regulatory compliance then?
  - openthc 5y ago
    I don't think you get it; I'll try again. - Our app was for business regulatory compliance obligation. - Our clients asked for us to get into the App store (customers love that shit for some reason) - The process sucked for us. I seems like you think we had a regulatory compliance obligation to be in the App store -- we did not; and do not. I only got into this thread because dealing with Apple sucks -- and sucked for us especially hard.
- jordanthoms 5y ago
  Did you try with a PWA? Discoverability can be hard vs having an App Store listing but I wonder if that would satisfy your user-base if you made it into a nice experience
  - openthc 5y ago
    Since our struggles (starting in 2016) for this ; feature sets on mobile browsers have improved -- and we've learned more too -- we've mostly dropped "App" type support and have it 99% Bowser based. The only thing we're not able to get now -- but also no longer NEED -- is tight integration with Bluetooth IR/NFC/RFID type scanners ( the Socket Mobile is very popular in our universe -- https://store.socketmobile.com/products/durascan-d750-universalplus-barcode-scanner https://store.socketmobile.com/products/durascan-d750-univer... ) As for Android -- Google is also Cannabis hostile but side-loading onto Android is a breeze (by comparison to iOS)

FourHand451 5y ago

It's kind of sad that we went from "there's an app for that" to Apple themselves being a huge obstacle to making useful, feature-rich mobile software. I used to think writing an app would be a fun side project or that a job in mobile development could be cool. These days I don't want to touch it with a six foot pole.

spaetzleesser 5y ago

We really have to get away from having only a few mega-powerful providers for such services to having smaller providers that actually compete with each other. It's insane that Apple has full control of what goes onto devices that have such a significant market share. The app store(s) should be run by different that do the app reviews and allow apps by their own guidelines. So if you want a cannabis or porn app you can go to an app store that allows these apps and if you like a more family friendly store you go to another app store. The censorship abilities these companies have is just too much. I don't like Trump but it really bothered me that Facebook and Twitter blocked him. If the block the US president how many smaller guys are being censored and you never will know?

datavirtue 5y ago
Content and distribution by a single entity...keeps rearing its head.

sneak 5y ago

> Ours was for regualtory compliance -- a legal obligation for cannabis businesses. Cannabis businesses are illegal to operate in the United States, where Apple resides. Possession and distribution of cannabis is a federal felony in all 50 states and US territories. This is an issue with the United States, not with Apple. The lack of side loading is an Apple issue, but if you are going to make that argument (and you should!) then the cannabis app rejection is a red herring.

coupdejarnac 5y ago

Who the fuck has time for this bullshit? I don't miss developing mobile apps.