App Discovery Services AppGratis Gets Pulled From the App Store
Today and for some unknown reasons Apple pulled the popular app discover services AppGratis that too many users have been using it in the past few months over the weekend. AppGratis is yet to confirm the reason for the decision, but it’s thought the app could have been in violation of a new rule Apple introduced last October banning iOS apps that feature or promote other apps.
“Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected,” the rule states. Given that AppGratis is an app discovery service, which offered a “daily deal” for a free iOS app, it seems likely this is the reason behind its removal from the App Store.
A number of other popular discovery apps have been removed from the App Store following the introduction of this rule, including AppShopper, which was pulled last December and is yet to reappear.Having said that, we can’t be certain of the reasons behind this until it’s confirmed by either Apple or AppGratis. iOS apps get pulled all the time for different things, such as using private APIs or a nasty bug, so it could be that AppGratis needs a simple tweak before it reappears.AppGratis CEO Simon Dawlat certainly didn’t seem too concerned by Apple’s new rule when it rolled out last year. ”We believe we’re adding significant value to the Apple ecosystem by sending close to 100 million visits to the App Store yearly,” he said.
So it’s likely there is something deeper here. If it’s about the fact that AppGratis is very successful at promoting downloads, that’s worrisome to both app developers and investors. PocketGamer speculates that AppGratis’ incredibly fast growth caused Apple to pay close attention, and that the company may have used shady methods such as botfarming to grow so quickly.
Other app-discovery platforms such as AppHero seem to be still up and running, and a quick search for AppGratis in the app store reveals copycat apps such as Gratis App Hoy still available, as well as other free-app-of-the-day apps such as Free Apps for a Rainy Day and 3 Magic Shots – Paid Apps for Free Daily. AppShopper, however, which was pulled in December 2012, has still not made it back into the App Store, despite promises from the company.as I’m sure both developers and investors will note, StartApp, which provides mobile monetization services for the Android app market that includes a massive amount of app discovery and promotion, and recently hit the 500 million downloads mark, has not been banned by Google.