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Apple has threatened to remove Amphetamine from the App Store

(github.com)
946 points giuliomagnifico | 1 comments | 01 Jan 21 19:19 UTC | HN request time: 0.243s | source
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blatherard ◴[01 Jan 21 20:15 UTC] No.25606521[source]▶
I thought I should look at the App Store and see what this app is doing in comparison to similar apps.

The logo is basically a big pill and the tagline "Powerful keep-awake utility" which is clearly alluding to the drug. https://imgur.com/a/RJXHaBa

This was consistent with the feedback the author received: "[the] app appears to promote inappropriate use of controlled substances. Specifically, your app name and icon include references to controlled substances, pills"

Almost all of the other top apps in the app store in the same category use some reference to caffeine either in the name or tagline or description (e.g. "Jolt of Caffeine" or "Owly" which has a logo of an owl in a cup of coffee) https://imgur.com/a/yySBqEL

There's one other, much less popular app called "Coca" which appears to reference cocaine, but doesn't also have a drug-referencing icon or tagline, and which only has 15 reviews. By comparison, Amphetamine seems to be the most popular result, at least for the search term "awake", with 1.37K reviews

The guideline in question doesn't seem to consider excessive use of caffeine as problematic to encourage. "1.4.3 Apps that encourage consumption of tobacco and vape products, illegal drugs, or excessive amounts of alcohol are not permitted on the App Store. Apps that encourage minors to consume any of these substances will be rejected. Facilitating the sale of marijuana, tobacco, or controlled substances (except for licensed pharmacies) isn’t allowed."

Overall, Amphetamine did seem to be pushing the drug-use angle much harder than other apps in the category based on the logo, tagline and title, especially if you consider caffeine abuse not problematic.

Added: I don't have a strong opinion on this one either way, other than edgy naming has pros and cons. Word of mouth is easier, but sometimes a problem like this happens.

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kortex ◴[01 Jan 21 22:31 UTC] No.25607922[source]▶
What drug-use angle are they pushing? The pill logo is actually pretty typical of generic 15mg amphetamine/dexamphetamine salts, a common ADHD prescription, and nothing about the tagline strikes me as drug-adjacent. "Powerful keep-awake utility"? It does what it says on the tin.
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1. blatherard ◴[02 Jan 21 20:25 UTC] No.25616156[source]▶
You seem to be trying to say that each element in itself doesn't invoke the illegal drug use metaphor. Even if that were the case, my argument is that the three pieces bolster work together.

Just like if I named a game "Alcohol" and the logo was a glass with some liquid in it, and the tagline was "Have a good time". Individually none of those would necessarily be promoting drinking alcohol. After all, alcohol has uses for cleaning, and the glass is just a glass, and "Drink in the fun" is just describing what it's like playing the game. But if you put them together, they unequivocally do.

As for there being legitimate uses of amphetamines, I'm not saying there aren't (I'm well aware of these uses, personally). That doesn't mean the off-label uses are legal. AFAIK, at least in the US, using amphetamines solely to "keep awake" is an illegal usage, and the tagline is referring specifically to that.