Just one day after exposing a handful of developers spamming the App Store with duplicate VoIP apps, a clear violation of the App Store Review Guidelines, TechCrunch reports that Apple has removed many of the apps from the App Store.
However, the report notes that plenty of duplicate apps remain available in other categories, such as photo printing. MailPix Inc., for example, has released three different apps that all offer same-day photo printing at nearby CVS or Walgreens locations. All three apps appear to be virtually identical in functionality.
By releasing duplicate apps on the App Store, developers are able to game the search results by using different names, categories, and keywords.
As the report mentions, the primary issue here is that Apple is not consistently enforcing its App Store Review Guidelines, which warn developers that "spamming the store may lead to your removal from the Developer Program." This can lead to an unfair playing field for developers who do abide by the rules.
With millions of apps on the App Store, it is likely that quite a few other duplicate apps have slipped through the cracks, but hopefully the increased awareness results in Apple cracking down more on these rule-breaking developers.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has high expectations for Apple's first foldable iPhone.
In his Power On newsletter today, he said the foldable iPhone will be "the most significant overhaul in the iPhone's history."
"iPhone 4, iPhone 6 and iPhone X were clearly a big deal, but this is a whole new design," he said.
Like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, the foldable iPhone will reportedly open up like ...
iOS 26.5 is now available for developers, and while it doesn't include any new Siri capabilities, there are some major changes for the European Union, and smaller tweaks for features available worldwide.
Suggested Places
In the Maps app, there's a new "Suggested Places" feature that recommends locations to visit based on trending places nearby and recent searches. When Apple launches ads in ...
Apple has been celebrating its upcoming 50th anniversary by hosting surprise performances and other events around the world over the past few weeks, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has revealed details about the company's grand finale.
In a social media post, Gurman said Apple's celebrations will conclude this week with a finale at its Apple Park headquarters for employees.
A special...
Apple has announced it is lowering App Store developer fees in China from March 15, with commission rates for standard in-app purchases (IAPs) set to change to 25%, down from 30%.
In an update on its Developer blog, Apple also said the commission rate for qualifying IAPs under the App Store Small Business Program and Mini Apps Partner Program (and auto-renewals of IAP subscriptions after the ...
Wednesday March 18, 2026 6:28 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
A lawsuit brought against Apple by music streaming app Musi has been dismissed by a federal judge, after she ruled that Apple's developer agreement gives it the right to remove any app from the App Store at any time, "with or without cause."
Launched in 2013 by two Canadian teenagers, Musi was an app that played YouTube videos in a stripped-down interface, showed its own ads (removable for...
Apple has quietly blocked AI "vibe coding" apps, such as Replit and Vibecode, from releasing App Store updates unless they make changes, The Information reports.
"Vibe coding" tools allow users with little to no programming experience to build apps or websites using natural language prompts. Their accessibility has driven rapid adoption among both developers and non-technical users.
Apple ...
So you didn't read anything in the article, just felt the need to complain about something completely unrelated?
I try to avoid the forum comments here lately. It's become just full of negative people complaining about everything. Many years ago these forums weren't so full of negative folks...
Guess its really true, humans are more motivated online to be negative than positive .
"Apple Cracking Down on Developers Spamming the App Store With Duplicate Apps"
Good. Plus, I soooooo wish Google would do this, as well.
It's not always the same developer. A third-party may provide an open-source app or sell an app to "developers" that they can then put on the app store as their own. The end result is you have several different developers all selling the same app.
I was searching for a duplicate photo cleaning, and I kept seeing the same app over and over, released by different developers.
Both Apple and Google have this crap, and they both are filled with fake 5-star reviews.
