Promises service will go on

AppGratis' removal from the App Store was marked by a sudden reversal on the part of Apple reviewers, says AppGratis CEO Simon Dawlat. While he confirms that the app was pulled for violating two guidelines relating to promoting software, he also claims that it was initially approved by two reviewers before being rejected by a third shortly after the launch of the iPad version.

"Early Monday, R. [a reviewer] gave me a follow-up call. He basically couldn't go beyond repeating multiple times that our app had been pulled out due to guideline 2.25 and 5.6," Dawlat writes in a blog post. "I asked how he and his team could have possibly changed their minds overnight, pretty much pulling the plug on a 45-person company. He seemed very detached regarding the gravity of the situation, and was unable to let me know on what specifics these decisions had been made."

The CEO says he is still in "absolute shock" about the situation, but says that his service is "far from finished," in spite of earlier remarks. He notes that AppGratis still has over 12 million iOS users, and is planning to continue daily deals. At the same time Dawlat is asking people to share his blog post with others, and urging an Apple executive to get in touch.

by MacNN Staff