Minimizing Platform Risk to Protect Startup Growth

By Yakov Filippenko

One morning, I discovered that our app had been pulled from the Apple App Store without warning. For roughly a month, our team scrambled to uncover the cause, even contacting internal connections, only to be warned that assisting us could jeopardize their careers. Nothing yielded results.

For years, the unspoken agreement with the App Store seemed straightforward: maintain compliance, and your storefront stays online. Then a sudden removal notice arrives, forcing you to question whether your enterprise can endure.

During 2025, Apple deleted 166,899 apps and granted just 423 reinstations following appeals. Based on our experience, facing this situation feels like witnessing your enterprise implode without any assurance of revival.

Fortunately, the story isn’t entirely bleak. We managed to pull through, and this ordeal demonstrated that platform reliance is fundamentally an infrastructure vulnerability. Founders routinely plan for server outages and payment gateway failures, yet losing access to the ecosystem that acquires customers warrants equal vigilance. Luckily, we were prepared, and these steps show how you can be too.

Understand what a removal can take away

Initially, prospective clients lose the ability to download your software. Soon after, paying subscribers flood your help desk with a far more alarming query: “The app is missing. Are you running a scam?” The disruption persists as current users upgrade their mobile devices and find they cannot reinstall the program, steadily wearing down your user base.

On the monetary front, Apple promptly freezes earnings accumulated over the preceding three months and halts automatic subscription renewals. For any subscription-centric enterprise, this can drive monthly recurring revenue down to zero.

Before allocating another dollar toward customer acquisition, evaluate what would happen to those buyers if your application vanished overnight. Would they retain access to your utility and maintain their payments?

If the response is negative, every new user simply deepens your dependence on an external platform’s arbitrary decisions.

Don’t make an appeal your contingency plan

Cal AI, reportedly pulling in $100,000 per day, was abruptly removed and later reinstated. However, its eventual return provides no indication of how long your own company might be left waiting.

In Intch’s specific scenario, the justification provided was so vague it offered zero clarity. We were given a 30-day window to contest the decision, which ultimately concluded with a standard automated rejection.

While your appeal might eventually succeed, your enterprise must keep functioning during the interim. Preparing ahead ensures business continuity regardless of the final verdict.

Build the alternative before you need it

Our trial was exhausting, but fortunately, two years prior we had decoupled our operations from the App Store by launching a web version and establishing it as our primary billing channel.

This pivot also allowed us to deploy software updates 10 times daily while bypassing Apple’s steep commissions. We were far from alone in this strategy; Telegram founder Pavel Durov has similarly advocated for web access to circumvent store restrictions and potential censorship.

The takeaway is clear. Users require a functional substitute prior to losing their primary access point. Constructing one only after a ban occurs leaves the business exposed while staff frantically scrambles to substitute their storefront.

Initially, we worried the user experience would degrade, but that apprehension proved baseless. Following our removal, every critical performance metric fully rebounded.

If you share this worry, test the concept while your app remains active to confirm whether users can successfully navigate and pay via the web before they are forced to depend on it.

Include platform exposure in growth decisions

Most creators view the App Store merely as a distribution network, rarely acknowledging the immense leverage it grants Apple over their operations.

Prior to injecting additional funds into expansion, analyze precisely how much income relies on uninterrupted access and what portions would withstand an abrupt takedown. Understand how long your organization could stay afloat during a prolonged, unanswered appeal.

Backers and investors should pose these exact inquiries, because a growing subscription pool demands rigorous examination when a solitary platform choice can instantly sever revenue streams. This vulnerability belongs directly in investment and valuation conversations.

Monopolistic gatekeepers act in their own self-interest, and if your commercial model falls outside their strategic vision, you may wield zero influence over a ruling capable of destroying your company.

While you cannot control their policies, you can dictate whether those rules hold the power to end your enterprise. Establishing an alternative route while your app is still live represents the smartest defensive maneuver you can make.

---

Yakov Filippenko is a seasoned entrepreneur with more than 10 years of experience in IT and technologies, as well as scaling businesses internationally. As a product manager at Yandex, he led a team that grew the product’s user base from 500,000 to 1.2 million and secured its entry into the international market. Subsequently, he co-founded SailPlay, which he scaled to 45 countries and eventually exited, after it was acquired by Retail Rocket in 2018. In 2021, Filippenko launched Intch, an AI-powered platform connecting part-time professionals with flexible roles.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

Frequently Asked Questions

What is platform risk for app founders?

Platform risk refers to the danger that a third-party gatekeeper, such as Apple, can suddenly remove an app, freeze funds, and disrupt revenue, severely threatening the survival of the business.

How many apps did Apple remove in 2025?

In 2025, Apple removed 166,899 apps and reported just 423 restorations after appeals.

What happens financially when an app is removed from the App Store?

Apple immediately freezes funds from the previous three months and turns off recurring subscriptions, which can instantly drop a subscription-dependent company’s monthly recurring revenue to zero.

Why should founders build a web alternative?

Building a web version and making it a primary payment channel ensures customers have a working alternative if the app is removed. It also allows for frequent updates and helps bypass high platform commissions and restrictions.

Should investors look at platform exposure?

Yes. Investors should scrutinize platform exposure because a growing subscription base is vulnerable when a single platform decision can interrupt its revenue.

---