I’m writing here to let you know that AnkiMobile is at risk of being removed from the Chinese Apple App Store. This is due to a law that came into effect on April 1st requiring every app available in China to obtain a mobile app filing. Apple is already enforcing this requirement for Chinese developers, and it’s likely that Apple will start enforcing it for international developers within the next few weeks.
I can see from Data.ai that your company currently generates a significant amount of revenue in China, which I assume you would like to ensure you continue to receive. This can be achieved by either obtaining a mobile app filing for your app under our company’s legal entity in China or by setting up a subsidiary here in China. We would be happy to provide you with complimentary advice on both of these options so that you can confirm the best choice for your company.
Are you available for a call one day next week so I can provide you with more details on these two options? If so then please send me an email at anlin@appinchina.co.
WhatsApp, Threads and Telegram have been removed from Chinese Apple App Store. I guess YouTube, X and Instagram will be the next. I’m not sure when it will happen in Anki.
Personally, I think it’s unlikely that the government will remove AnkiMobile from the App Store in China (I hope so). Even if they do, I believe the impact of this disappointing policy on users in China would be relatively small. Users who have previously purchased AnkiMobile can still download it from their original account, and other platforms of Anki, as well as AnkiWeb, will still be available in the future. The one who might be most affected by this policy is Damien Elmes, who may lose some future revenue from China.
By the way, I don’t think Anki has as many users in China as one might imagine. A significant portion of users are using pirated versions of AnkiMobile or repackaged Anki from the App Store.
I am less optimistic. I expect AnkiMobile and all other apps in the same boat will be de-listed soon, or when an update is next uploaded. I don’t even know if previously-purchased copies will still be available to users.
I believe that users who have previously purchased AnkiMobile can still download it from their original account because similar things have happened to games in the App Store. The government requires every game to have a publication number, otherwise, it will be taken down. This policy was implemented after December 31, 2020, and countless games were removed, but fortunately, I can still redownload them from the “Purchased” section of the App Store.
Additionally, Anki is fundamentally different from software like Telegram, which is why I still have a glimmer of hope for this situation. Anyway, I hope that this double-loss situation will not come to pass in the end. Also, thank you, Anki has really helped me a lot.
I expect more stringent regulations around the world in the near future because of AI but of course nobody can accurately know the future. Still my guess.