Apple brought the ban hammer down on an AI-powered iOS app.
The Information reported that Apple pulled an app called “Anything” from the App Store. For the unfamiliar, Anything is/was an app based around using “vibe coding,” or the act of using natural language AI prompts to generate apps, often by people with no formal coding experience.
Apple has been either pulling vibe coding apps or blocking them from releasing updates since March, according to The Information, with other apps like Vibecode and Replit becoming victims.
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In case you’re wondering why Apple might take a hard line against vibe coding apps, it’s not just based on vibes. The company told MacRumors that while there isn’t a precise rule against vibe coding, these apps do violate App Store Guideline 2.5.2, which states:
Apps should be self-contained in their bundles, and may not read or write data outside the designated container area, nor may they download, install, or execute code which introduces or changes features or functionality of the app, including other apps. Educational apps designed to teach, develop, or allow students to test executable code may, in limited circumstances, download code provided that such code is not used for other purposes. Such apps must make the source code provided by the app completely viewable and editable by the user.
So, while there isn’t exactly a rule against vibe coding apps, that guideline, as currently written, would make it pretty hard for any of them to exist on the App Store.
App developers have also reported delays in app store approvals this year, with some blaming vibe coding apps for creating a bottleneck. On Apple’s end, fewer vibe-coded apps means fewer submissions to review.
But that also means you might need to learn how to code for real if you want to make an iOS app, so not everyone is a winner here.
Topics
Apple
Artificial Intelligence
