Update: the App Review Board has confirmed that my Apple Developer account will not be terminated. Sparrow on macOS is safe.
Thank you to everyone who shared and reached out in the past 24 hours - I'm grateful. And credit to @Apple for reviewing the appeal and reaching the right outcome.
The deeper problem hasn't gone away: apps impersonating @SparrowWallet are still reaching users and putting their funds at risk. I'll keep working to protect people from those scams, and I hope to do so alongside @Apple.
Thank you all.
Thank you to everyone who shared and reached out in the past 24 hours - I'm grateful. And credit to @Apple for reviewing the appeal and reaching the right outcome.
The deeper problem hasn't gone away: apps impersonating @SparrowWallet are still reaching users and putting their funds at risk. I'll keep working to protect people from those scams, and I hope to do so alongside @Apple.
Thank you all.
My attempt to protect users from scam apps on the @AppStore has gotten my Apple Developer account flagged for termination - ironically, for "dishonest activity".View quoted post on X
Unless it's reversed by June 30, all new installs of Sparrow Wallet will fail, and development on macOS will end.
The context: since 2023, more than a dozen fake "Sparrow" apps have appeared on the App Store, as recently as April this year. Users have contacted me after losing their savings, in some cases their life savings, to these impersonators.
I'm the developer of the real Sparrow Wallet, a desktop app, and I hold the registered US trademarks for the name and logo. I have publicly warned @Apple and the community about these fake apps from early 2024, but they keep appearing.
The app @Apple flagged was a placeholder that was never published. Its only purpose was to warn users that Sparrow is desktop-only and that other "Sparrow" apps aren't mine. This approach may have been misguided, but there was nothing dishonest about it.
I'm confident this is an automated misclassification that Apple would reverse on review - but I may be terminated before a human ever looks at my appeal. The cost would fall on @Apple's own users: blocked installs and no updates for a tool people rely on, which opens the door for more fakes.
If you value Sparrow, a repost would help. @AppleSupport
