Building an app is hard. Getting it banned? Surprisingly easy. One misstep with data privacy, one shady UX decision, or one wrong move with the apps store, and suddenly you’re not launching, you’re apologising. If you don’t understand the risks, you're not just falling behind; you will be risking your entire product.
Therefore, in this post, we’re highlighting the biggest reasons that cause stores to remove apps. You’ll see how privacy missteps and sneaky design choices can backfire, and how to build with integrity before your app gets the boot. Because let’s be real: “I didn’t know” won’t help when your app’s already gone.
Top Reasons to Ban Apps
Getting banned doesn’t just hurt your reputation — it drains revenue, breaks trust, and wipes out months of work in one click.
Apps fail for lots of reasons, but there are a few mistakes that show up again and again. Let’s break down where most go wrong, starting with the biggest one.
1. Data Privacy Violations
This one is simple: if your app is careless with user data, it will not last.
App stores, they don’t mess around. If you track users without clear consent, bury important policies in fine print, or share data without transparency, you will find your app banned before you know it. Even if you mean well, poor design or unclear wording can still result in a ban.
Take Threads, for example, on Apple iPhones. They love talking about privacy, but as this UX teardown shows, there’s a fine line between clean design and strategic ambiguity. Clean screens, unclear meanings. Users get told they are in control, but often, they are not. When transparency is more aesthetic (like clean, not much text) than functional, you are not fooling anyone for long.
(Image Source: Growth.Design)
If your privacy policy sounds like something a bored lawyer would write, you should start over. Make sure to inform users about what data you collect, why, and what they can do about it.
UX tip: Be brave enough to design your consent and settings screens with all the T&CS as if actual human beings would read them. If it feels like a trap, it probably is, and that’s precisely what gets apps banned.
2. Deceptive UX Patterns (a.k.a. Dark Patterns)
You know what gets flagged fast? Dark Patterns
Dark patterns are tricky UX choices that push users into things they probably wouldn’t say yes to if the design were honest.
You’ve seen them around:
- A tiny “No thanks, I love missing out” link under a glowing “Subscribe Now” button
- Free trials that quietly become $89.99 charges because cancelling is harder than finding the setting in Windows 98
- Privacy options buried like a secret boss level — deep, vague, and three menus deep
A 2023 study by Thomas Mildner, published in the ACM Digital Library, examined apps such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. It found 69 distinct dark patterns in the wild. Confirmshaming. Forced continuity. Roach Motels. You name it.
Instagram makes it really hard to turn off ad personalisation. The setting hides behind multiple vague screens. This is a textbook Roach Motel: easy to get in, almost impossible to get out. By the time you realise what is happening, you’ve already agreed to more tracking than you'd like.
These days, app stores move fast. If they catch shady tactics, they will pull your app, hit you with penalties, and let the backlash do the talking.
Take the case of Fleeceware Apps: These apps looked innocent, like flashlights or QR scanners, but locked users into expensive subscriptions through deceptive design. They used bait and switch dark pattern to make people sign up before they understood the cost. Between 2020 and 2021, Google removed hundreds of these apps from the Google Play Store after widespread reports of misleading UX and unethical billing practices.
One thing’s clear: if you build on confusion instead of consent, your app won’t last.
3. Breaking Platform Rules (and Thinking You’ll Get Away With It)
If data privacy violations and shady UX don’t take your app down, ignoring platform rules just might.
App stores operate with strict rules and tight control. One wrong move, and you are out. Every platform sets clear guidelines on payments, content, updates, and how your app interacts with system features. And they don’t like surprises. Break the rules, or even get too creative with bending them, and you’ll find your app pulled faster than you can tweet an apology.
Real-Life Example:
(Image Credit: GameIndustry.biz)
Fortnite vs. Apple (2020):
In 2020, Fortnite tried to sneak its payment system into the iOS version of the game to avoid Apple’s 30% cut. Apple responded by kicking Fortnite off the App Store within hours. The lawsuit that followed was messy, high-profile, and a perfect reminder: no app is too big to ban if it breaks the rules.
Common Rule-Breaking Moves That App Stores Absolutely Hate:
- Using private APIs or system calls that aren’t allowed
- Bypassing in-app purchase rules (Fortnite learned the hard way)
- Letting harmful or illegal user-generated content spread unchecked
- Failing to update your app to meet new platform security or privacy standards
Even if your intentions are good, such as “more freedom” or “better value for users,” it doesn’t matter if you're breaking store policies. If you go around the rules, the store will go around you.
UX Tip:
Design within the lines: creatively, sure, but carefully. Pushing boundaries is great for innovation. Breaking terms of service is excellent for... unemployment.
App stores don’t care how clever you are. They only care how well you play by the rules.
Win with trust, not tricks. That’s how great apps survive.
Conclusion: Apps Are Sustained by Trust, Not Tricks
Building an app isn’t just about launching fast or gaming the system — it’s about earning absolute trust. When you design apps with honesty, with a commitment to user privacy, and respect for the platforms you build on, you don’t just dodge negative headlines; you create something that will last.
The best apps don’t have to trick users into clicking, signing, or staying. They offer value so clear and real that users choose to stick around. And in a world that’s finally waking up to dark patterns and shady practices, that’s the kind of app that wins.
So, if you’re serious about success? Respect your users. Play by the rules. Build better.
Downloads get you noticed. Staying live, trusted, and unbanned? That’s what earns respect.