Blix recently clashed with Apple over an AI-powered update to its BlueMail email app, but that does not mean an Apple App Store ban or crackdown is imminent.
Apple said that without content filtering, the Blue Mail chatbot could produce words that aren’t appropriate for children, and the email app would have to raise its recommended age to 17 and up… Regardless, the Blue Mail episode isn’t a sign of an impending Apple crackdown on AI apps.
There is no formal AI or chatbot policy in Apple’s App Store Guidelines, a document that outlines what Apple permits on the App Store. Apple has employees in a department called App Review load up and briefly use all apps and updates before it approves them.
Apple could add AI-specific guidelines in the future. For crypto apps, for example, Apple explicitly introduced a section about cryptocurrency in the guidelines allowing wallet apps and banning on-device mining in a 2018 update. Apple introduced new rules about NFTs last year. The company often releases updates to its guidelines in June and October.
