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.
Tuesday September 1, 2026 4:50 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today informed developers that universal Mac App Store apps that require macOS 13 or later can remove support for Intel-based Mac computers.
We're reaching out to let you know that universal macOS apps on the Mac App Store that require macOS 13 or later can now remove support for Intel-based Mac computers.
By removing support for Intel-based Mac computers, you can simplify your...
MapQuest is in the spotlight this week after refusing to change "Lake Ontario" to "Lake America" on its map following an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump last week. As of Monday morning, the MapQuest app is the top free iPhone app on Apple's App Store charts in Canada and fourth on the equivalent U.S. chart.
For our younger readers, MapQuest was once a popular service...
Monday September 7, 2026 3:19 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is looking at further ways to monetize the App Store and increase the company's recurring revenue from the platform, according to a new report.
Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that newly appointed Apple CEO John Ternus and services chief Eddy Cue are behind the effort to raise margins from the App Store, which already generates Apple an estimated ...
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.
