Vibe coding has taken off fast. The concept is simple: describe what you want in plain language, and AI builds the app for you. It’s pulled in millions of users who would never have touched traditional development tools. But if you’re using one of these vibe coding apps on your iPhone, there’s a snag.
According to The Information, Apple has quietly blocked updates for several vibe coding apps, including Replit and Vibecode. The holdups come from a longstanding App Store rule, specifically Guideline 2.5.2. It prohibits apps from downloading or executing code that changes how they or other apps function. Vibe coding apps run into this because they let users generate and preview new software directly inside the app itself. Apple’s review team flagged that as a violation.
What Needs to Change
The fixes being discussed aren’t necessarily dealbreakers. For Replit, one likely solution is moving generated app previews to an external browser. Vibecode may need to drop the ability to create software for Apple devices altogether. According to The Information, both apps were close to getting approved again after agreeing to those kinds of changes.
Apple told MacRumors it has no rules specifically targeting vibe coding apps and that its guidelines apply equally to everyone. The company also said it had been in regular contact with affected developers, including three phone calls over two months. Worth noting: Apple has embraced vibe coding in its own Xcode environment. The company recently added support for AI coding agents from both OpenAI and Anthropic. So the technology itself isn’t the issue. It’s where the code runs and how it gets previewed that Apple objects to.
Some developers suspect there’s a financial angle here too. Vibe coding apps make it easier to build software outside the App Store entirely. That puts them in direct tension with a platform Apple depends on heavily for revenue. Whether that’s driving the enforcement or not, the end result is the same for developers.
