Why did my app get removed from AppStore?

plucks wrote:

I was wondering why it used to be found in search, and now it's not. No one I know can find it searching.

I can't even find it from your website.

When it was first released, I could search for "IdentaFly" and it would be found as top hit because the name matches.

As I said, that is not reliable. App Store searches are premium real estate. There is nothing stopping anyone from paying for an ad for "IdentaFly" and seeing their app returned as the top hit.

the App Store link is: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/identafly/id6470413594

Doesn't work in Canada. I even tried hacking the "us" part.

I used the OTA "update" feature so that fixes can be published, without new version bumps & resubmission. Since then I can't find the app posted in the app store. Maybe a coincidence.

I'm unaware of any kind of OTA "update" feature that will bypass App Store review. I do see people make suggestions about doing this using various types of web apps. That's the kind of thing that will get your app delisted and yourself kicked out of the developer program. Don't believe what you read on the internet. People will give you recommendations that they know will get you banned. They do that for fun and amusement.

plucks wrote:

EAS update: https://docs.expo.dev/eas-update/introduction/

I guess with web apps they can't really block this. The App Review Guidelines have a section dedicated to forbidding this, but it is in a Mac App Store paragraph. Section 2.5.2 says, "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." But I guess there is some grey area for "bug fixes".

But I would never bet my company on it. I guess this explains a lot.

plucks wrote:

I submitted my app a week ago. Anyone could search for it. Now, I cannot find it listed. What happened? I did push updates to a new version, but I would have to manually request review to have the new version approved & listed instead.

I received no notification.

No one here knows who you are or what your app is. Why would you expect anyone to know?

What do you mean "push updates to a new version"? Are you talking about the git source control system? Or something else?

Or are you just not able to find your app when searching? Did you try manually navigating to your app's page in the App Store? App Store search is notoriously bad. Don't rely on it. You are expected to do your own marketing and advertising, both within the App Store and without.

If your app looks fine in the App Store, and your direct link works for you, then you may be fine. I'm still not sure about the actual state of the app. I realize Apple heavily pushes the "TestFlight" idea. I think they have their own, ulterior motives for that.

What you've described so far simply doesn't make any sense. You have a website that doesn't have a link to the app, just "coming soon" and "sign up for updates". Yet you are talking about searches and results? And you are doing some kind of OTA update on this app that isn't using the App Store? Should the app be available in Canada? Why not?

Maybe you should take a step back and honestly assess how this all looks from the perspective of Apple's App Review. You might want to really dig into your spam folder. I think you may have already been kicked out of the developer program.

plucks wrote:

It's not on my website yet because we have not yet launched to public...just a soft launch

Other people can see it. I guess this is just standard App Store search behaviour. It's not reliable.

Search works for me just fine, when using the complete name. "IdentaFly". It returns it as the one and only result in the App Store on the iPad, so not sure what the actual problem may be.

I had no trouble getting your app to come up by following your link, or simply by opening the App Store on my Mac and searching for indentafly.