Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has made a u-turn on its threats to remove the “Amphetamine” app from the Mac App Store. Amphetamine keeps Macs from sleep mode and has been in the App Store for the past six years.
Apple reverses decision to remove Amphetamine for Store
The company has reversed its earlier decision and will let the app remain in the App Store with its current logo and name. Amphetamine developer had indicated that the company threatened to remove the app saying it violated App Store guideline 1.4.3. The guideline is related to vape products and tobacco, excessive alcohol, and illegal drug consumption.
Amphetamine is a free app for macOS designed to prevent the Mac from going to sleep but the company recently contacted its creator William Gustafson stating that the app violated App store guidelines. On January 1, 2021, Gustafson posted in GitHub and Reddit that the company had informed him that he had only two weeks to “remove all references to the word ‘amphetamine’ and remove the pill from the icon.” He indicated that the company said that if he failed to do so the company will remove the app from the App Store by January 12, 2021.
Gustafson received a violation without explanation
Gustafson said that on Saturday he received a call from the company granting his appeal but didn’t know how the app got flagged in the first place. He said that he asked Apple if it was due to complaints from customers but he was told that was not the case. Gustafson says that he found it to be odd because the issue came out of nowhere and he wasn’t updating amphetamine or anything when he got the rejection/violation email.
The app has been downloaded over 432,000 times and has a 4.8 rating. Gustafson said that the company had even featured the app in a Mac App Store story. He indicated that since its launch in 2014 he has had interactions with Apple employees on updates of the app but has never received an objection to the logo until now.