Apple refuses Electron apps in the App Store for macOS because of private APIs

Several developers report that Apple has declined their app or app update for macOS because they are built with Electron. As a result, the apps use private APIs, which goes against Mac App Store rules. Until now, Electron apps were just approved.

The rules of the Mac App Store for macOS are that developers should only submit apps that rely on public APIs and APIs documented by Apple. Applications built with private APIs are automatically blocked during the validation process.

However, according to MacGeneration, many developers are unaware that they are using private APIs. It concerns the group of programmers who use Electron, the GitHub framework to develop cross-platform applications for macOS, Windows and Linux using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Apple has never encouraged developers to work with Electron, but the apps have been approved without any problems so far. One of the best-known examples of this is the collaboration tool Slack.

It is not yet clear why Apple suddenly refuses submitted Electron apps. It may be due to tightened measures regarding private APIs, which block the applications during the verification process. Another possibility is that Apple now wants to give priority to so-called Catalyst apps, a new feature of macOS Catalina 10.15 that makes it possible to convert iOS apps into applications for the Mac.