Hector

The tweet provides maybe: 20% useful insight 80% inflated jargon A clearer version of his entire thread would simply be: There’s no magical App Store boost. Apple briefly tests new apps. Apps with strong branding, high conversion, and early external traffic get expanded visibility. Apps with weak signals get buried quickly. In 2026, competition is much higher, so launch strategy matters more than ever.

But there is a 100% chance that reviewers are working with devs to make apps and bring in millions. Or even chances of reviewers owning the accounts. Because there are apps on AppStore where you literally question how can this be approved? How?? Owning an app that generates your salary as reviewer in a single day >>>> Bribes

@noob_aristocrat I could be wrong but I dont see it. I met a couple reviewers. I met dozens scammers. None of them counted on bribery

Appstore rules are blurry, arbitrary, applied unfairly and most play around to innovate. Fair But I know dozens of app devs who blatantly infringe appstore guidelines, proudly. I even know a group where having been taken down is a badge of honour to join. I despise that mindset

my response to @seraleev trying to get my app banned the bullying - 00:50 the lying - 02:10 the hypocrisy - 04:02

It’s definitely an issue to ask for rating before paywall or too early in the app. NOT RECOMMENDED AT ALL!! But if the user is performing a core task in the app for free in onboarding and they can see the results before paywall, rating can be taken. I think apple should allow this.

@hector_iosdev @gabriel_mlx so, you're saying it is not an issue to have it before the paywall? the issue is too many ratings per user?

Close call Reminded once again that Apple does not fuck around Lesson learnt

@saas_marketer_ @gabriel_mlx Randomness to avoid sudden spikes.

@hector_iosdev @gabriel_mlx no i mean about randomly showing it on the paywall though. surely, they just don't want us showing it before the user actually uses the app?

@saas_marketer_ @gabriel_mlx Testing, observation and 9 years of building iOS apps. Recently added onboarding to an app with around 14 steps at step 11 I am asking for rating. Apple removed those ratings after 2 days. Had to stop, If I don’t stop those ratings eventually I will get a similar email.

@hector_iosdev @gabriel_mlx how do you know that?

@gabriel_mlx Save your account and remove the app that is causing this issue. Find out how it happened.

@hector_iosdev Just 2 warning emails so far, call with apple developer support said I'm not pending termination yet thankfully

Got hit with another warning from Apple a few days ago Even after removing the review prompt in onboarding. I have now since also removed the app from sale Earnings payments are also now being withheld I've contacted apple via email twice already but no response Wondering has anyone else been in a similar situation?

@olayanjuidris For utility apps like yours i think not asking in onboarding is better. Or at least let users see a mock usage of the app and than ask for rating (like ai image/video generator apps) BUT BUT you need to make 100% sure that the app would work exactly like the mock usage.

I am thinking of asking for reviews from users so we can build our trust signals Should i ask them during onboarding? Does anyone have any examples ... Or should i ask when they have performed an action? Which one has had the most effects so far, and pls can you share examples

What are your impressions and conversion rate on AppStore? How many per day downloads? Do you have analytics in your app to check where users leave or abandon your app? Do they use the app after onboarding? How many users open the app after first day? Did your 11k tiktok had a clear CTA? Is your app visible on AppStore on that CTA?

No active trial Built an AI note taker, posted 8 videos on one phone, one hit 11k, The active sub is me and one of my friend This is one of the days i feel so bad, but we keep going, its not the end of the world but its fine The amount of work i put into this to for this to go live but hard work doesn't equal to success, we still push This is my app, btw if my tweet reaches you apps.apple.com/ng/app/notedri…

@mariosaputra If you can, send regular updates of your app. Every 14 days. Definitely helps with ASO and shows algorithm that the developer is actively working and taking care of the app.

I have a theory that your app might actually getting pushed a little bit when you submit a new update. I realized this when see impression metrics. Both spikes happen after the app update. However, just like release boost, this might not happen to every app.

@olayanjuidris Please do share the doc

Our app got approved today 🎉🎉🎉🎉 After 2 weeks of facing Apple rejections , we are finally here, Thank you guys , I learnt a lot from here For context: our app is an Ai note taker for taking notes, summarize with pdf and generating flashcards , we also have a chat feature embedded in it too I made a list of things that we faced and how we solved them, I am thinking of making a doc to show all those things so people can learn Who wants …..

🚨 Mac App Store FRAUD — Caught in 4K Neural Techlabs claims their app is running “GPT-5.4” But inside the app? It literally responds: 👉 “Powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4.1 family” This isn’t a mistake — it’s blatant deception. 📉 What’s really happening: • Marketing: GPT-5.4 (premium, expensive) • Reality: GPT-4.1 mini/nano (cheap, cost-optimized) Users are being baited with high-end AI claims and served downgraded models. And this isn’t their first time 👇 Neural Techlabs has already been linked to repeated scam apps impersonating AI brands on the Mac App Store ⚠️ Pattern: • Fake / inflated model claims • Misuse of OpenAI branding • Re-uploading deceptive apps after removals This is systematic App Store abuse — not a one-off. Apple review is failing. Users are paying for something they’re not actually getting. This needs immediate takedown. App Link: apps.apple.com/app/ai-chat-yo… @OpenAI @OpenAIDevs @OpenAINewsroom @ChatGPTapp #MacAppStore #AI #Security #Fraud #Apple

Here is my understanding of review prompt in onboarding. For instance smaller apps, you got 10 installs from US and got 9, 5 star ratings within first few seconds of app usage. And it continues to do so daily, so in a week you get around 70 ratings, it will raise questions. Apps that have longer Onboardings like 40+ screens, their time before asking for ratings is more, because it takes time to complete that long onboarding. For smaller onboardings I suggest to add randomness, 3 users out of 10, ask a few users for ratings, specially for new apps. Its not just about where you ask for ratings, its also about how many you got against the installs.

Definitely do not add a review prompt during onboarding

@olayanjuidris Keep making a checklist and before shipping your next app make sure to check everything before shipping. Read app review guidelines carefully. Every rejection is a learning.

Apple rejected our app submittion because we did not include how we use user’s information My own take is , why didn’t you ask me all what you want to ask me at once , why allowing me to fill and fill and fill It’s been 3 weeks now We started from paywalls , the other day it was privacy policy info , now this one , it’s Ai disclosure I can’t wait for our App to be shipped out I can’t wait

This was approved when I submitted the build again with review notes mentioning that the description has EULA link. This was suggested by @seraleev

🚨 Mac App Store FRAUD — Caught in 4K Neural Techlabs claims their app is running “GPT-5.4” But inside the app? It literally responds: 👉 “Powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4.1 family” This isn’t a mistake — it’s blatant deception. 📉 What’s really happening: • Marketing: GPT-5.4 (premium, expensive) • Reality: GPT-4.1 mini/nano (cheap, cost-optimized) Users are being baited with high-end AI claims and served downgraded models. And this isn’t their first time 👇 Neural Techlabs has already been linked to repeated scam apps impersonating AI brands on the Mac App Store ⚠️ Pattern: • Fake / inflated model claims • Misuse of OpenAI branding • Re-uploading deceptive apps after removals This is systematic App Store abuse — not a one-off. Apple review is failing. Users are paying for something they’re not actually getting. App Link: apps.apple.com/app/ai-chat-bo…

🚨 Mac App Store FRAUD — Caught in 4K Neural Techlabs claims their app is running “GPT-5.4” But inside the app? It literally responds: 👉 “Powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4.1 family” This isn’t a mistake — it’s blatant deception. 📉 What’s really happening: • Marketing: GPT-5.4 (premium, expensive) • Reality: GPT-4.1 mini/nano (cheap, cost-optimized) Users are being baited with high-end AI claims and served downgraded models. And this isn’t their first time 👇Neural Techlabs has already been linked to repeated scam apps impersonating AI brands on the Mac App Store ⚠️ Pattern: • Fake / inflated model claims • Misuse of OpenAI branding • Re-uploading deceptive apps after removals This is systematic App Store abuse — not a one-off. Apple review is failing. Users are paying for something they’re not actually getting. App Link: apps.apple.com/app/ai-chat-bo…

⚠️ ‼️ When you change the category of your app, for example from Business to Productivity apple resets your ratings across all countries to 0. You have to start from scratch. There is no mention of this, neither while change ASC gives a warning of this. Indie developers be careful.

Never ever change app category of your running app. You loose your ratings 🫡