Apple is cracking down on vibe-coded apps, with the Cupertino-based tech giant pulling the app ‘Anythng’ from the App Store last week while citing the self-containment rule from its App Review Guidelines. As per a report by The Information, while the app was removed from the App Store on 26 March, the tech giant had been blocking its software updates since December last year.
The report notes that Apple was also blocking updates to other vibe-coding apps like Replit and Vibecoding, noting that these apps went against the long-standing iOS rule that says that an app can’t run code that changes the way it or other apps function.
In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple said that the problem with these apps wasn’t vibe coding, but because they violated certain sections of the App Review Guidelines and Developer Program Licence.
The said Section 2.5.2 of the App Review Guidelines reads, “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.”
A failed compromise
Following reports of Apple’s initial crackdown on Replit and Vibecode earlier this month, the developers of ‘Anything’ tried to appease App Store reviewers by bringing an update to the app which would allow users of the app to see previews of their vibe-coded apps inside a web browser rather than inside the Anything app.
According to The Information, Apple rejected this proposed workaround and opted to pull the application from the App Store entirely.
Notably, earlier this year Apple had added advanced AI backed coding abilities, powered by Anthropic and OpenAI’s tools, directly into Xcode, the company’s official developer environment for macOS.
What is vibe coding?
“Vibe coding” has emerged as a popular term for a new-age software development approach using AI. The term itself has been attributed to former Tesla Director Andrej Karpathy and is used in cases where users with little to no traditional programming experience create fully functional apps, websites, and tools by simply using natural language prompts with an AI system.
The app Anything was reportedly a rising star in this space. Since its debut on the App Store in November, the app had raised $11 million at a $100 million valuation.
As per its co-founder and CEO Dhruv Amin, users had already leveraged the platform to publish thousands of custom apps, which ranged from gig-worker expense trackers to emergency response management systems.
