Apple App Store is “playing tricks” again, Ethereum wallet Gnosis cannot be released due to NFT function

As Apple releases products like new iPads and iPhones, there's a battle going on behind the scenes over what people can install on those devices.

Lukas Schor, head of product development at Ethereum wallet Gnosis, said Apple is blocking the release of the Gnosis Safe mobile app because it allows users to view NFTs in addition to helping them manage custody of their crypto funds.

Gnosis Safe NFT integration is problematic for Apple. According to information shared by Schor, Apple asked earlier this month if the new version of the app could be used to store NFTs. Schor said that the app already had NFT integration earlier this year; the latest update was about connecting the hard wallet Ledger Nano X to Gnosis Safe, so it was not originally related to NFTs. However, now that the question has been raised, Gnosis has responded that yes, users can store their own NFTs on the app.

Apple App Store then said that this was not allowed, “We noticed that your app contains or accesses paid digital content, services, or features that are not available through in-app purchase, which is not appropriate for the App Store.”

In a follow-up message attempting to resolve the issue, the Apple App Store responded that Gnosis should remove the feature. An App Store reviewer wrote, “Apple does not allow apps, especially wallets, to display NFTs if they were not purchased via in-app purchase.”

So the result is that you can buy NFTs through the app on your Apple phone, but you can’t store NFTs purchased elsewhere.

Apple has not yet responded to Decrypt's request for comment. Critics say the tech giant is known for tightly controlling its platform, sometimes to prevent competition. Apple lost a lawsuit against Epic Games last week when a judge ruled that Apple cannot block outside payment methods on its devices.

And this is not the first time that crypto wallets have had problems with Apple's App Store. Trust Wallet said it removed the DApp browser from version 6.0 of its iOS app in June this year because, by its very nature, such blockchain-based applications generally do not comply with Apple's code guidelines. Similarly, the imToken wallet removed the DApp listing feature last week, citing the App Store guidelines that applications "should not attempt to extend or expose native platform APIs to third-party software." Neither of the two Android apps had such problems.