Apps created in Electron are being rejected by Apple

Unlike the macOS, all apps for iOS must be installed exclusively through the App Store; On Macs, developers can distribute their software across both the Mac App Store and the web, however, that doesn't mean they don't get screened by Ma.

Considering Apple's rigorous rating system, one developer reported that some apps built with Electron (one framework which lets you distribute web apps like MacOS and Windows software, like Slack) are being rejected during Mac App Store review.

Many of these software are distributed across the web. However, several others use Ma's platform even to give the user more reliability when downloading them. In response to the developer, Apple said the software is using private APIs to perform background actions. The company further determines that continued use of this type of feature may result in the deletion of the developer profile:

Continuing to use or hide non-public APIs in future submissions of this app may result in the termination of your Apple developer account and the removal of all associated apps from the App Store.

In a discussion on GitHub, many developers claim that such APIs are not in their apps themselves, but are part of an “underlying framework” of frameworkwhich apparently used for years. As it turned out, Apple updated the app review guidelines and filtering out the use of these codes, which include: CAContext, CALayerHost, NSAccessibilityRemoteUIElement, NSNextStepFrame, NSThemeFrame, and NSURLFileTypeMappings.

Although Ma has already taken a stand on the case, some developers are conspiring that the increased number of rejected apps should be introduced by Mac catalyst, a feature offered by Apple to help developers build apps that are compatible with both iPadOS and macOS.

As we said, if developers don't want to submit their Mac App Store apps, they can publish them independently on the web. However, starting with macOS Catalina, apps must be accredited to a registered developer account before they can go through Gatekeeper, Mac's native security system.

via 9to5Mac