Apple will no longer remove Mac app it threatened to remove over branding

A popular, six-year-old Mac app was about to get axed in a few days over its name and branding, which Apple claims breaches its App Store guidelines. The tech giant backtracks its decision and allows Amphetamine to stay on the Mac App Store. Amphetamine is a free Mac app that lets users keep their machine awake for a set amount of time. This highly-rated app was launched back in 2014 and has been downloaded over 432,000 times. 

For unknown reasons, Apple decided the app violates its guidelines. Its developer William Gustafson posted an extensive report on GitHub sharing about how an Apple representative reached out to say his app will be removed from the Mac App Store on January 12, 2021, if he didn't make changes to the app.

The app supposedly breached the following requirement: "Apps that encourage consumption of tobacco and vape products, illegal drugs, or excessive amounts of alcohol are not permitted on the ‌App Store‌. Apps that encourage minors to consume any of these substances will be rejected. Facilitating the sale of marijuana, tobacco, or controlled substances (except for licensed pharmacies) isn't allowed."

The Apple representative reportedly said, "Your app appears to promote inappropriate use of controlled substances. Specifically, your app name and icon include references to controlled substances, pills."

Gustafson defends his app, saying it doesn't promote illegal drugs because amphetamine is a legal prescription medication in the United States. And that "objectively speaking," Amphetamine doesn't encourage amphetamine to be taken "irresponsibly, illegally, or recreationally."

He said, "Just like amphetamine (the organic compound) can be legally used to keep humans awake and attentive, Amphetamine (the app) can be legally used to keep your Mac awake."

Gustafson pointed out how "unfair or inconsistent" Apple is when it comes to enforcing its guidelines since there are apps that promote irresponsible use of illegal drugs but haven't been taken down.

The app has even been directly promoted by Apple in a Mac App Store Story feature and garnered over 1,400 reviews.

He said how he'd interacted many times with Apple and its App Review Team regarding Amphetamine, but Apple never raised issues about its branding before.

Source: MacRumors