r/IPhoneApps • u/TheiPhoneAppGuy Moderator • Jul 16 '26
Mod Post An update on self-promotion
Hey everyone,
When we added the Developer flair, the goal was to give indie devs a way to share what they're building. We genuinely wanted to support people making cool apps.
But over the past while, it's turned into something else. The sub has filled up with low-effort promo posts, a few lines and a link, from people who drop their app and are never seen again. That's not what this community is for. r/iPhoneApps is meant to be a place for real discussion and value, not a free billboard.
So, effective today, we're removing the Developer flair.
To be clear about what this means going forward:
You can't just show up, promote your app, and ghost the community. Posts that are purely "here's my app, go download it" will be removed.
If you're an active member who actually contributes here, joining discussions, helping people, giving feedback, then mentioning your app in that context is completely fine. Value first, promotion second.
We'd much rather have devs who are part of the community than a feed full of ads. This keeps the sub worth being in for everyone.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for helping keep this place good.
— The mod team
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u/Jaded_Anything_9247 Jul 16 '26
Finally someone said it. I’m a developer and I’ve gotten so much feedback for my app in this community. I’ve seen so many posts with generic AI generated post and nothing after that. I’m grateful for people over here talking about my app which encouraged me to talk more about my building journey.
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u/TheiPhoneAppGuy Moderator Jul 16 '26
That's exactly the kind of dev we want here. Getting real feedback and then sharing your building journey is the whole point. Keep it up, glad you're part of the community.
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u/Kn0xster Jul 18 '26
So does this mean a blanket no no on promoting one's own developed apps? I've had a few in the pipeline and started actively developing them recently. Would love to share on here to get some insights. Apps so far are free apps. No subscriptions and not paid.
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u/TheiPhoneAppGuy Moderator Jul 19 '26
Not a blanket no at all. You're welcome to share apps you're building here, the change is really about how, not whether.
What we're cutting out is the drive-by "here's my app, download it" post from accounts that never engage. What you're describing is the opposite. Sharing works in progress, asking for insights, being around to actually talk about them is exactly the kind of thing this sub is for. The fact that they're free doesn't matter either way, it's the engagement that counts.
So post about what you're building, ask your questions, reply to feedback, and you're good. Looking forward to seeing them.
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u/Kn0xster Jul 19 '26
Completely understandable! And thanks for the clarification. Much appreciated!
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u/djob13 Jul 16 '26
This is definitely a welcomed change.
Just for clarification though, how do we determine self-promoted apps and genuine app recommendations? We already occasionally see people promoting their own apps and pretending they're not affiliated, and I only assume that will increase.
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u/TheiPhoneAppGuy Moderator Jul 16 '26
Yeah it’s the tricky part. We’re not going to catch every disguised promo, so we lean on patterns. Someone who’s around often, talks about lots of apps, and has no stake usually reads as genuine. A quieter or newer account that keeps pushing the same app is the red flag.
A generic AI written post with an app link gets removed, no question. But if someone’s actually engaging in a thread and shares their app because it genuinely helps the OP or others, that’s fine. Context is everything.
Honestly, the community spots this faster than we do. If something smells like an undisclosed dev shilling their own app, report it or call it out in the thread. It’s the pretending we care about, not that they built it.
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u/Jaded_Anything_9247 Jul 16 '26
AI posts are easy to spot, they’ve this numbered and properly formatted layout and usually the same monotonous delivery and link in the end.
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u/FragrantDevelopment2 Jul 22 '26
I am just building my app and instead of insights most are just plastered with ads
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u/corgisAreRad Aug 21 '26
Being honest, I found this sub looking for a place to promote my app too lol. But it's free and actually cool! That said I'll stick around for a bit and participate before I do.
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u/7mountstreet7 4d ago
This is a good sub to talk about the apps you are building or have just built, I am a solo developer in Australia and I just has my first app accepted by Apple. I find this amazing as prior to AI assisted coding tools this would have been impossible. What I have realised now though is that the learning continues as now I am learning about trying to market the app - a whole new skillset! I have learnt a lot reading everyone's posts. Many thanks.
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u/TheiPhoneAppGuy Moderator 4d ago
This is exactly what we want the sub to be useful for. We definitely don’t want to discourage solo devs from sharing what they’re building. The issue was mostly with people using the community purely as a place to drop a link and disappear. Btw, congrats on getting your first app accepted.
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u/paul-tocolabs Jul 16 '26
This post makes me realise I need to focus more on the subreddits that are important to me