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Apple has cited Section 2.5.2 of its developer agreement to block updates or remove several visual programming apps from the App Store, including Replit, Vibecode and Anything. The move comes as the number of apps submitted to the App Store rose 84% in a single quarter, driven in part by AI-assisted coding tools.
Apple is preventing updates for some apps in the visual programming category and removing others. Replit and Vibecode were blocked from updates, while Anything has been removed twice.
Anything co-founder Dhruv Amin confirmed to TechCrunch that the app was first removed on March 26. Amin said the company built its mobile app primarily so users developing iOS apps could preview the product directly on a device during coding. He said there were no issues by the end of December, but that after December, the company and other apps in the category were blocked from updates.
Apple’s position is based on Section 2.5.2 of the developer agreement, which prohibits downloading, installing, or running code outside the app.
In an email photo Anything posted online, Apple said the app was advertising itself as a tool to create native iPhone apps, including features such as direct submission to the App Store with one tap, exporting code, and editing code.
When the two sides communicated directly, Apple raised two specific concerns: that users could deploy malicious code on devices; or that users could manually build a harmful app, install it on a phone, and then claim the app had passed Apple’s App Review.
Anything was restored on April 3, but was removed again shortly afterward because the company did not advertise the product as a tool for building apps.
In response, Anything said it is seeking alternatives. In early April, the company launched a feature allowing users to build apps running on the iMessage platform. It also announced plans to develop a desktop version to help users build mobile apps from a personal computer.
Amin added that the company is considering shifting to Android, saying the platform is more open than iOS.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney weighed in, urging Apple to “immediately stop blocking development tools.”
Separately, a recent report found that AI-assisted coding tools contributed to an 84% increase in the number of apps submitted to the App Store in a single quarter. The article notes that this trend could put pressure on Apple’s manual review process and raise questions about whether major platforms should allow ordinary users to build apps for themselves.
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