Exposing the dark side of the App Store and Google Play. 🕵🏻‍♀️
Joined September 2026
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3.1.2 Violation Detected!
The billed amount isn't the most prominent price.
Apple's subscription guidance says the amount that will be billed must be the most prominent pricing element, and any breakdown price should be shown in a subordinate position and size to the annual price.
Also The "discount" doesn't appear to exist. ÂŁ49.99 Ă· 12 = ÂŁ4.166, so ÂŁ4.16/mo is just the annual price split into months.
The Apple sheet shows a plain ÂŁ49.99/year with no promotional or introductory offer, and the footer says it renews at the same ÂŁ49.99.
So "Rejoin with a discount" and "SAVE FOREVER" advertise a saving that isn't there.
🚨 Google Play just updated its policy on manipulating the review process.
More clarity on what counts as gaming the system, and fewer excuses for anyone who does it.
Read it before your developer account becomes a statistic 👇
âś… Be prepared to provide Google with a detailed explanation of your app's features and code if they request it for a review.
❌ Don't use techniques to detect the app review environment and change your app's behaviour to hide non-compliant features.
Oh, and here's the app :)
$114K in revenue. Apple is deleting my account for "fraud".
Over a tiny update I tried to ship 6+ months ago.
8+ rejections. 1 call with App Review. 1 full app rename.
Still rejected. Now my app is off the store, and my whole account is next.
Here's the full story:
The update added one new library. That's it.
Rejected: change keywords that had been there for over a year. mm okay.
Rejected: change a subtitle in some random localization. if it helps..
Rejected: screenshots.
Rejected: the same stuff, all over again.
Rejected: rename the entire app.
That one hurt. Most of my traffic comes from people searching that exact name.
So I asked for a call. Surely we could clear this up live.
The reviewer was genuinely great. He said the name was the last thing, everything else looked good.
So I renamed the whole app, submitted, went to sleep.
3 days later. Woke up to a generic rejection. Subtitle, screenshots, the full combo. Again.
So I asked myself: do I REALLY need this update?
I didn't. I dropped it and moved on.
Today, in that same old thread: "Pending Termination Notice. Evidence of Dishonest or Fraudulent Activity."
My appeal is with the App Review Board.
If it fails, this is what termination means:
Every app I've built, gone.
Every user, gone.
And I can never open a new developer account. Ever.
All over one library update I never shipped.
How do we solve a miscommunication like this?
Here is the anatomy of a $500K scareware app. It’s built to push people into an expensive subscription. 🧵
Possible violations
1.1.6, false information and features. This bans false features, including inaccurate device data and trick functionality such as fake location trackers, and saying the app is “for entertainment” doesn’t excuse it. The magnetometer showing 0 µT is inaccurate device data, because Earth’s own field is around 50 µT.
2.3.1(a), misleading marketing. Marketing an app by promoting services it doesn’t actually offer is grounds for removal and termination of the developer account, whether the marketing is inside or outside the App Store. Apple’s own example is iOS virus and malware scanners. The ~330 Meta ads promising to find hidden cameras in hotels fall under this, since the Wi-Fi scan can’t reliably do that.
3.1.2(a), subscription bait-and-switch. Apps that trick users into buying a subscription under false pretenses, or use bait-and-switch practices, will be removed. The paywall flags “Suspicious Devices” and only reveals them if you pay £6.99 a week or £39.99 a year.
2.5.19, hidden features. Apps must not include hidden, dormant or undocumented features, and their functionality must be clear to users and to App Review. The isInReview flag suggests the app could behave differently while Apple reviews it. The guidelines’ introduction also says developers who try to trick the review process will have their apps removed and be expelled from the Developer Program.
App Store @AppStore
apps.apple.com/us/app/hidden…
Play Store @GooglePlay
play.google.com/store/apps/d…
Google Ads @GoogleAds
adstransparency.google.com/?…
Ad Library @Meta
facebook.com/ads/library/?ac…
88 BILISIM YAZILIM ANONIM SIRKETI
[email protected]
IKSV VAKFI, NO:5-2 EVLIYA CELEBI MAHALLESI SADI KONURALP CADDESI, BEYOGLU 34000 Istanbul (Europe)/Ä°stanbul TĂĽrkiye
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