Free42 for iOS likely to end soon

[Thomas Okken]

UPDATE, 4/29 8:38 PM EDT: Apple have reversed their decision and allowed the update. No reason was given, but I am happy about the outcome.

I submitted a Free42 update to the iTunes App Store last night, and it was rejected for a reason I hadn't seen before: because of the word "Free" in its name.

Really. I shit you not.

Read this and weep:
https://venturebeat.com/2017/03/28/apple...the-price/

OK, so I guess Apple wants to get rid of free apps, because they make no money off free apps. (That's not quite true, actually: I pay them $99 per year, plus tax, for the privilege of putting stuff in the App Store. They get that money regardless of how many people install my app and how much they pay for it.)

They know it would be horrible publicity to just ban free apps outright, so instead, they prohibit developers from highlighting the free-ness of their apps.

It is a bit ironic that the "Free" in "Free42" never even stood for "free of charge" -- it stands for "free" as in "liberty," i.e. the freedom to obtain, modify, and re-distribute the source code.

I am appealing this rejection, but if they stand firm, I'm done with Apple. I'll ditch my iPhone and get something Android instead, and I'll pull Free42 from the App Store. Life is too short to waste time on supporting this kind of BS.