Apple pulls AI-generated apps from App Store amid review backlog
AI-powered "vibe coding" tools enabled a surge of app submissions to Apple's App Store, overwhelming the review process and causing approval times to extend from 24 hours to 30 days. Apple removed apps, including those by developer Kosta Eleftheriou, which he alleges violated his rights through lack of due process and transparency.
What happened
AI-powered vibe coding tools, which generate code from natural language descriptions, drove an 84% surge in new app submissions to Apple's App Store in a single quarter, the largest increase in a decade. This caused approval times to balloon from 24 hours to as many as 30 days.
Apple began removing apps from the App Store, including AI-powered applications developed by Kosta Eleftheriou. Apple cited guideline violations in removal notices but, according to Eleftheriou's account, failed to specify which guidelines were violated or provide a meaningful path to reinstatement.
Reported impact
The surge in submissions overwhelmed Apple's app review infrastructure, extending approval times significantly and creating a bottleneck in the platform's gatekeeping process.
Eleftheriou claims the removal of his apps amounts to anticompetitive behavior, arguing that Apple's monopoly over iOS app distribution makes removal from the App Store a 'death sentence' for applications.
Index analysis
Vibe coding's power lies in generating and executing new code on demand in response to user prompts in real time, which creates structural incompatibility with Apple's review process that assumes human review of finalized code.
Apple's App Store Review Guidelines run dozens of pages and cover everything from data privacy to in-app purchases, giving Apple what Eleftheriou's legal team characterizes as virtually unchecked discretion to approve or reject apps.
Governance controls
Apple has responded to the surge by pulling apps that violate its self-containment rules, triggering a standoff with the platforms fueling the boom.
Eleftheriou's lawsuit contends that Apple's exercise of discretion without transparency amounts to anticompetitive behavior and a violation of California's Unfair Competition Law, and raises claims under federal antitrust statutes.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.