The Short Version
– Cannot login to my Apple developer account.
– Cannot pay Apple.
– Apple took down my app.
– Wanted to re-upload it but it was excessively complicated hence gave up.
– Please use mobile browser for now (possibly forever).
The Long Story
Recently, many users have been contacting me about the missing iOS app.
Previously, I released a iOS for StocksCafe (SGXcafe then). However, Apple took it down because I was locked out of my Apple developer account. It is a combination of forgotten password, changed phone number, and an account with such high account security that nothing can be done even when I called their customer service. Thus I could not pay the USD100 annual fee to keep the app up which resulted in them promptly removing my app from the App Store.
Initially, I thought all I need to do is to simply create a new account and upload the source code I have. However, that was not possible due to Apple constantly upgrading its swift code version and worse, making old versions incompatible. This means that my only one-plus-year source code is already obsolete!
Thus, to have StocksCafe iOS app working, I will have to rewrite the app using the new swift code version (it took me several days of developer time previously from learning to coding and deploying), pay USD100 annually, and most likely having to appeal and reiterate since they previously rejected my app previously at the start, saying that it was too simple. I expect that it would easily take a few weeks before I can get it into the Apple store, assuming if it even makes it there in the first place. Compare this to the Android process, which basically took me only two days from developing to releasing in Play Store and a one-off fee of USD20.
Cumulatively, these felt like too much work especially since I have other more interesting features (in my opinion) to spend time on for StocksCafe. So if you are an iOS user, I hope that you can understand and use the mobile browser instead. Essentially, it is actually the same thing, because what I did for the app in the past is just wrapping the mobile browser with a few basic features until Apple approved it as an app.
Finally, if you are an iOS developer and willing to help StocksCafe, please contact me!
