“Amphetamines”: Apple threatened to expel the veteran Mac tool

After six years in the Mac App Store, the Mac software Amphetamine was suddenly threatened with expulsion: Apple contacted him at the end of December and pointed out that the name and icon “advertise the use of controlled substances” and thus violate App Store rule 1.4.3 as reported by the tool’s developer. The software must therefore change its name and branding, otherwise it could be kicked out in mid-January 2021.

Six years without complaints in the App Store

The free tool Amphetamine prevents the Mac and its display from going to sleep. Such software is popular, for example, to prevent the computer from accidentally going to sleep during a presentation. He couldn’t understand why Apple had left the app unobjectionable for years and now suddenly got bothered by the name that has been used since the beginning, writes the developer William C. Gustafson on Github – The name and icon reflect the identity of the app, which has been downloaded over 400,000 times and cannot simply be changed overnight, and the app in no way advertises the use of narcotics. He had lodged an objection against the decision with Apple, but after a short time he was informed by telephone from Apple’s developer team that the decision would remain after internal consultation; If the name is not changed, the app will be removed. Gustafson then went public and called for the ‘rescue of amphetamines’ – that caused a stir on social media at the beginning of 2021. On January 2, Apple finally rowed back and still accepted his objection, writes Gustafson, the app may be distributed unchanged in the Mac App Store.

App store rules cause trouble

Apple’s written and unwritten app store rules repeatedly cause incomprehension and anger among developers and users. While iOS apps can only be sold through Apple’s app store, Mac developers can also sell their software directly to customers. Thanks to security requirements such as signing and notarization, Apple now also has the option of stopping the development of unpleasant software – even if it is not malware, but a tool like the Unreal Engine, for example. (lbe)