Telegram"s CEO, Pavel Durov, has called out Apple for its opaque review process that controls not just an app but also its updates from entering the iOS App Store. Durov claims Apple has been sitting on a “revolutionary” update for the Telegram messaging app for more than two weeks.
Through a Telegram post, the messaging platform’s CEO has implied that Apple could be routinely holding back apps and their updates. Criticizing Apple’s app store business models, he added that Telegram is discouraged by the “obscure” app review process that’s “imposed on all mobile apps by the tech monopolies.”
For example, our upcoming update – which is about to revolutionize how people express themselves in messaging – has been stuck in Apple"s "review" for two weeks, without explanation or any feedback provided by Apple.
If Telegram, one of the top 10 most popular apps globally, is receiving this treatment, one can only imagine the difficulties experienced by smaller app developers. It"s not just demoralizing: it causes direct financial losses to hundred of thousands of mobile apps globally.
As indicated by Durov, Apple hasn’t offered any explanation for the delay in approving an update for the Telegram app. Apple, however, has been speeding up its approval process. The company claims that "every week, over 500 dedicated experts around the world review over 100K apps," adding that over 1 million submissions are rejected.
Still, Telegram competes not only with Apple’s iMessage service but also rivals WhatsApp, Instagram, and Signal. Hence, this abnormally long delay is concerning. It will be interesting to see if Durov follows up with another Telegram post offering more clarity on the issue.