BlueMail cofounder Ben Volach says that Apple blocked a ChatGPT-powered feature included in an update to the iOS app.
He said that the company told him the inclusion of AI-generated content required the use of a 17+ age restriction, to guard against minors being exposed to inappropriate content…
BlueMail and Apple have history
BlueMail developer Blix doesn’t exactly have the best of relationships with Apple.
Blix was, alongside Epic Games, one of the founding members of the Coalition for App Fairness, set up to fight the cut Apple takes from the App Store.
The developer also previously filed a (frankly ridiculous) lawsuit, claiming that the Sign In With Apple feature infringed a patent held by the developer. That case was dismissed.
Apple blocked ChatGPT-powered update to BlueMail
Top comment by AppleDev
The App Store response is awful. Language models are common enough that they should already have a reasonable policy decided on and in writing. It is not like they are bringing up something exotic.
Apple should at least have a FAQ about AI (ideally publicly available) the review team can refer to. Even if it is just that they don't yet have a policy and will require an all AI to have a mature content rating as a result. Based on how they phrased it, it sounds like app review didn't have any guidance on what to do, so they rejected it. Developers also need this information in advance of building a feature so they can make good product decisions.
It probably should have required a 17+ rating due to the models being generated from external content, but the whole rating system is fundamentally flawed. See my other two top-level comments for different aspects of this. Apple typically allows Mail apps to be 4+ despite the email or spam being unfiltered. Yet more inconsistency.
Apple has messed up the App Review process so many times, IMHO, I think they need to rethink the App Store from scratch. Ideally with new management, since any competent management wouldn't have allowed it to get this bad. It doesn't feel like incremental change has been very successful. They continue to follow bad incentives and inconsistently apply rules. Whoever is in charge of the App Store fell asleep at the wheel a long time ago. Nobody is steering this ship.
The latest BlueMail update includes AI features designed to pull text from past emails, in order to help you write new ones. The tech is powered by OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT chatbot.
Volach told the WSJ that Apple had blocked the update.
Apple has delayed the approval of an email-app update with AI-powered language tools over concerns that it could generate inappropriate content for children, according to communications Apple sent to the app maker. The software developer disagrees with Apple’s decision.
Apple took steps last week to block an update of email app BlueMail because of concerns that a new AI feature in the app could show inappropriate content, according to Ben Volach, co-founder of BlueMail developer Blix Inc., and documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
In rejecting the update, Apple told Volach that “your app includes AI-generated content but does not appear to include content filtering at this time.” It said that because the app could potentially generate adult content, it must use the 17+ age restriction.
Responding to the WSJ, Apple said that it is investigating Blix’s complaint, and pointed to the ability of developers to file an appeal with the App Review Board. The company didn’t comment on claims that other AI apps have been allowed through without age restrictions.
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