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Developer shuts down iPhone keyboard for the blind, accuses Apple of abuse

August 23, 2021 07:33 pm | Updated 07:37 pm IST

FlickType submitted an update that fixes various iOS 15-related issues & improves the app for VoiceOver users without any changes in the features or the App Store page, which was not accepted by Apple.

FlickType,the keyboard maker also complained about Apple's app store review guidelines

Developer criticised Apple and discontinued its keyboard for blind iPhone users after repeated rejections by the iPhone maker.

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"It's with a heavy heart today that we're announcing the discontinuation of our award-winning iPhone keyboard for blind users," the maker of the app, FlickType tweeted. "Apple has thrown us obstacle after obstacle for years while we try to provide an app to improve people's lives, and we can no longer endure their abuse."

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FlickType submitted an update that fixes various iOS 15-related issues & improves the app for VoiceOver users without any changes in the features or the App Store page, which was not accepted by Apple.

Apple argued that the keyboard extension doesn't work without "full access", something they rejected the app for three years ago. Back then, FlickType appealed and overturned Apple’s decision.

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The keyboard maker also complained about Apple's app store review guidelines. They said that dealing with App Review isn't just time-consuming but also emotionally draining. They criticised Apple's third-party keyboard APIs as buggy, inconsistent, ever-changing, and broken for a long time.

Apple did not respond to an emailed query .

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