4.1.2 Ready for Sale

On Wednesday evening (GMT) I released the latest update (4.1) to the App Store for the free version of RSSRadio, as is usual the paid version had been out for a few days, making sure there were no critical bugs.

4.1.2 Developer Removed from Sale

Unfortunately due to an issue in the way the free app was built the release was faulty, and crashed on launch. I realised this within about 20 minutes and withdrew the app from sale so nobody else could get the update.

If you got the faulty update, please sign up to this temporary mail chimp list so i can contact you with any solutions: http://eepurl.com/ctL2yX

4.1.3 Waiting for Review

Within a couple of hours I had identified the problem and tested a new version. As is normal procedure in these circumstances I requested a fast (expedited) App Review from Apple. They emailed me back within about an hour to say they would proceed with a review.

4.1.3 In Review

On Thursday evening the app had still not started to be reviewed, so I filled in a contact form asking for an update. This prompted some action and at 10pm last night the app went into review.

4.1.3 Rejected

At 2am this morning I received the message that the app had been rejected:

5. 2.3 LEGAL: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - AUDIO/VIDEO DOWNLOADING
Your app allows users to save or download music, video, or other media content without authorization from the relevant third-party sources.

Ouch. Well not really, or really thats the whole point of a podcast app, depending on your point of view.

Some publishers have clear terms of service allowing the user to download content (NPR: http://www.npr.org/about-npr/179876898/terms-of-use), other smaller ones of course have no such document.

I'll be appealing this decision, collecting some terms of service to show, and hopefully get the app out. Its not the first time that something weird has happened with App Review but the timing is pretty awful. I'll post updates on http://twitter.com/rssradio

4.1.3 READY FOR SALE

Late on Friday the app went back into review, and was approved for sale shortly afterwards. I had no feedback from App Review or other contact from Apple.

Time will tell how much damage 2 days of 0 downloads has done to RSSRadio along with the (probably deserved) 1 star reviews. I can expect to appear lower in search results for the foreseeable future.

CRISIS OVER

FAQ

Are Apple an evil corporation out to get you?

No, they are just a collection of people who can make mistakes and misunderstand things like anybody else