Apple is not Bluffing! A Few White Label Event Apps were already Rejected by the App Store

In June 2017, Apple announced its plan to reject white-label event apps from the App Store and released the new App Store Review Guideline: “Apple Bans Apps Created from a Commercialized Templates or App Generation Service”. White-label event apps are such apps -- they are created from some standard templates provided by white label app providers and are named after the event or the organization that runs the event.

Most event app vendors, except for Whova and a couple of others, provide white-label apps and many event organiers start worried about this disruptive change (However, if you are a Whova customer, you are 100% safe.)

Since Apple’s announcement, the event tech industry anticipated that Apple’s new guideline could potentially bring an end to white-label event apps. Some experts thought that Apple’s developer guidelines have always been vague and we would have to see where Apple will draw the line.

Not having to wait long, on August 30th in 2017, several reputable sources revealed that Apple has already begun rejecting white-label event apps by enforcing the new policy, according to the Event MB, the most influential event industry news resource.

Since Tuesday we have had three rejected Apps and we are discussing with Apple about this. -- Reported by an anonymous developer to Event MB

So What is the Alternative?

This is not a bad news for event industry. Apple is moving to the right direction. Apple promotes a universal app model. In the event tech industry, this means a single robust event app serving all different events while still retaining strong customization and branding power. Many event attendees can use the same event app across multiple events, resulting in a high download rate.

Whova is the most loved and widely-used universal event app that Apple is recommending. It has been used by more than 5,000 brands worldwide, consistently reaching up to 95% in download rates as many attendees have already downloaded and used this app.

Interested in how it might fit your event? Request a free consultation and learn more.