Vibe coding app Anything rebuilds after being booted from App Store twice

Apple has taken a firm stance against vibe coding apps, blocking updates or removing them from the App Store. Affected apps include Replit, Vibecode, and Anything. While Replit and Vibecode saw their updates paused, Anything’s app was removed twice. The company is now exploring new alternatives, such as offering a desktop version of its service, to allow users to build apps for mobile devices.

Anything’s co-founder, Dhruv Amin, told TechCrunch that Apple removed its app on March 26. Since then, the company has been unable to get its app approved, despite a brief reinstatement period.

“It’s been a long saga. We built a mobile app primarily to let our users who are building iOS apps preview their own app on their own device while developing it. [We] had no problems through December. Post December, we and everyone else in the category started getting our updates blocked,” Amin told TechCrunch.

Amin noted that Apple told the company the app was restricted or removed due to its developer agreement clause 2.5.2, which prevents apps from downloading, installing, or executing code.

“The app markets itself as a mobile app builder for iPhone and advertises making native iOS apps with features like 1-tap App Store submissions, code export, and full source code editing,” Apple told the company, according to a screenshot of an email shared by Anything on X.

Guideline 2.5.2 – Gatekeeping – Vibes denied

we haven't talked about this publicly

for months we tried to resolve it privately with emails, calls, appeals, and four technical rewrites to comply with whatever Apple wanted

here's our truth, unfiltered

on March 26th, Apple… pic.twitter.com/yJfjxonC41

— Anything (@anything) April 7, 2026

Amin said that when the company managed to get on a call with Apple, the iPhone maker told them the vibe coding app was removed because it could potentially be used to download malicious code. Additionally, Apple noted that a user could build a harmful app, sideload it on their phone, and then claim it passed Apple’s App Review process.

Anything’s app was restored on April 3, but it was quickly removed again as Apple told the company it couldn’t market itself as an app maker.

TechCrunch reached out to Apple for comment on these removals, and we will update the story if we hear back.

Following the battle with Apple, Anything’s maker is looking for other ways to let people build mobile apps. Earlier this month, the company launched a feature that allows users to build apps using the iMessage platform. The company said it will also build a desktop companion app that lets users vibe code mobile apps on their computer.

In addition, Amin said the company may instead look at Google’s Android operating system for building its apps, as the platform is more open than iOS.

Besides vibe coding app makers, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has been vocal about Apple’s tactics.

In a reply to Replit’s Amjad Masad on X, Sweeney said that Apple needs to “stop blocking development tools apps ASAP.”

Apple needs to stop blocking development tools apps ASAP. This practice is abhorrent to the founding principles of Apple as expressed by Steve Wozniak, in which every Apple ][ computer booted to a programming language prompt and treated using and making software equally.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 5, 2026

Earlier this month, The Information reported that thanks to AI-powered coding tools, Apple saw an 84% jump in app submissions in a single quarter. This could force Apple to change its human-led review processes.

Plus, as AI-powered coding takes off, consumers might demand that platforms like Apple allow them to create apps for themselves.