Apple’s Cal AI crackdown signals it’s still policing the App Store

Apple’s recent crackdown on the MyFitnessPal-owned Cal AI food-logging app demonstrates that the tech giant is still enforcing its strict App Store rules around the use of external payments. The calorie-counting app, which was briefly removed from the App Store last week, had attempted to skirt Apple’s in-app purchase guidelines and had also employed manipulative tactics, Apple told TechCrunch.

The developer has since addressed the issues, and the app has returned to Apple’s App Store.

Cal AI’s App Store rejection made the rounds on social media last week. Apple appeared to be making an example of the company, originally founded by a pair of high school students who grew the business to $50 million in ARR before being acquired by MyFitnessPal in March.

Initially, there was concern that Apple had simply removed the app for using web payments instead of Apple’s own in-app purchase (or IAP), even though that is now permitted.

At present, Apple’s App Store Guidelines allow U.S.-based developers to link out to external payment systems, as a result of a court ruling in the lawsuit brought against Apple by Epic Games. In most cases, however, apps are still required to offer Apple’s in-app purchase option alongside any external link. (The major exception here is for what Apple calls “reader” apps — meaning those that provide subscription-based access to digital content, like books, audio, music, video streaming, and more. Cal AI does not qualify for this exception.)

Apple, when reached for comment, said that the app’s brief removal was due to multiple violations of its rules, including bypassing Apple’s in-app purchase flow, using deceptive billing design, and other manipulative tactics. The episode shows that Apple is still actively policing how developers implement web payments, even though the Epic ruling had loosened some earlier restrictions.

Chief among the violations, Apple said that Cal AI had bypassed Apple’s in-app purchases by implementing an embedded in-app payment flow using a third-party service (in this case, Stripe) to unlock access to digital goods. In doing so, it removed Apple’s in-app purchase (IAP) as an option for users during checkout. This violated Apple’s App Review Guideline 3.1.1, which requires that IAP be offered alongside the external link.

Apple said that the company had also been engaged in deceptive billing practices, in violation of Guideline 3.1.2c, as Cal AI’s paywall was designed to mislead and confuse consumers. Specifically, the paywall displayed the weekly calculated pricing more prominently than the actual amount the user would be billed. It also included a toggle for a free trial that obscured information about the subscription’s automatic renewal.

Cal AI was further dinged for its use of “manipulative tactics,” Apple said, in violation of the Developer Code of Conduct’s guideline 5.6. One issue was that the app would prompt users who declined the first subscription offer with a second, different subscription purchase flow. Plus, the app had numerous negative user reviews that accused the app of being a scam because of how it presented its third-party payment options.

After its rejection, Cal AI addressed the issues, allowing it to return to the store, Apple confirmed.

MyFitnessPal and Cal AI did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

It would not be surprising if Cal AI had wanted to test the waters to see how actively Apple’s app review team was enforcing its rules in the wake of the Apple-Epic court ruling. Apple’s response should serve as a warning that the tech giant is still policing its App Store — even at the risk of losing out on its cut of the revenue of a viral app, which today sits in the No. 4 spot on the App Store’s Health & Fitness charts.