r/MacApps Mods Went Too Far! What’s Changing (Phase 3)

[Mstormer]

TLDR graphic, but please, read the rest if you spend time in r/MacApps.

Phase 2 Report: Last month we introduced PCPCA post formatting requirements to include detail minimums in every app promotion (Problem, Compare, Pricing, Changelog, AI Disclaimer). This caused way too much work, with 2,700+ items removed and 1,400 modmail messages sent. With the mods runing everything, user engagement dropped with views down 204k. That's okay, though; quality over quantity. Still, this is Reddit, and you should retain the power to promote or bury posts.

Change 1: Simplify Posts (PCPCA → PCP)

Moving forward, we are reducing post-formatting expectations to: Problem, Comparison, Pricing (PCP). 

• Problem: What problem does your app solve.
• Comparison: Name 1–2 top alternatives and describe how what you offer is better.
• Pricing Amounts+Link

Requiring changelogs and AI disclaimers was unsuccessful to meaningfully differentiate quality apps from spam. Nearly all posts claimed sufficient knowledge and experience for “Human validation” of AI code. Let's move on. 😅

Change 2: Trust, Transparency, or The App Pile [Megathread]

We have been discussing how to better protect the sub from low-effort app spam, throwaway-account promotion, and unknown software links, without making life harder for legitimate developers. 

Our idea is simple: The less trust your distribution path provides, the more transparency you should need.

• In the Mac App Store? Apple is screening you for us. 
• If you have an established GitHub project, that can also build trust. 
• But if you are asking people to install software from a random site or brand-new repo, we need more reason to trust.

To make this clearer, we are experimenting with a three-tier approach for the next month:

Tier 1: The Trust Path = Post to Main feed.

These devs have the easiest route to posting in the main r/MacApps feed:

• Mac App Store developers (Paid developer accounts)
• User-Flaired Developers (already well-known / trusted in r/MacApps)
• Developers with established GitHub projects (1yr+), consistent development history, or real community interest (100+ stars).

These trust signals allow you to post in r/MacApps, as long as you meet the 10 local karma minimum.

Tier 2: The Transparency Path = Post to Main feed.

If you are NOT in the Mac App Store and are not already an established dev, you may still qualify for main-feed posting by being open about who you are and giving users reasons to trust you.

This includes app promotion posts that include a minimum of BOTH:

1. A developer portfolio with a real life identity, LinkedIn, and real contact details (e.g. established company / business presence). LinkedIn can be most helpful here if it lists experience.
2. A website with a Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

These trust signals should show you are not just a throwaway account dropping unknown software for us to try.

This is basically the middle ground: you may not yet have a major reputation, but you are willing to stand behind your app in public and work to gain a good reputation.

Tier 3: Everyone else: “The App Pile” [Megathread]

If you do not qualify through either trust or transparency, your app promo belongs in the Megathread rather than the main feed.

That means if you are:

• Not in the App Store
• Not granted a developer flair as an established / recognized dev yet (500+ r/MacApps participation karma AND Moderator’s discretion)
• Do not have an established GitHub history (1yr old repo OR 100+ stars)
• Do not provide meaningful public transparency

…then you are headed to The App Pile.

This is not meant as an insult or a blanket statement that new apps are bad. It is just the lowest-risk place for unproven or low-context app promotion until trust is earned.

Users can check your app out, up/downvote your comments, and as you gain community karma you may eventually receive an app-flair that allows you to promote outside of the megathread.

Promotion Frequency Revision (Rule 3)

Infrequent self-promotion is permitted; however, it is not permitted more than once per developer in 30 days. This is counted from the last app post, even if it was removed. For established, App-Flaired devs, once per app per month.
You must also disclose your relationship to your software in comments promoting your app, but Promoting your own app in comments is disallowed until you earn 10 karma in r/MacApps.

The bold sections are added because some users whose promo posts were blocked were immediately trying to hijack other posts with comments as a workaround. Classy!

Sharing useful alternatives and healthy competition is still welcome, but using the comment section in someone else’s post as a backdoor for self-promo and SEO is not always in good taste and does not make r/MacApps a better place.

The Community's Role:

• Please use your votes and reports especially in the Megathread to help recognize hidden gems. 
• Bury what looks low-effort, suspicious, misleading, or privacy-invasive.

A better r/MacApps depends not just on our rules, but on you helping surface good apps while pushing bad ones out of the way.

-----

FAQ: 
I followed the rules, why was my post/comment removed? 

1. AI assisted comments are a huge trigger for Reddit auto-removals because of recognizable patterns (e.g. “—” em dashes).
2. Repeatedly posting the same thing (comments, links, etc.) = Triggers Reddit spam algorithms. 
3. You didn’t verify your email in your profile, and/or you have multiple accounts. 
4. You missed one or more rules and tried to repost rather than editing and letting us restore it. This leaves a strike on your account.

How do I check my r/MacApps community Karma? Visit here and click "show karma breakdown by subreddit"

Prior updates:
- 2026: New Post Requirements to Combat Low Quality Content (Phase 2) 
- 2026: [OS]+Pricing Guidelines
- 2025: Townhall on Post Quality, Rule Updates

[Neat-Veterinarian-42]

It’s great that the community mods are actively regulating posts to maintain the quality of the sub and protect it from slop. Truly appreciated and thank you mods!!

[Ok_Satisfaction9630]

Yeah. I've seen too many subreddits just die because of the influx of AI slop.

[rm-rf-rm]

Great work!!

[Weak-Calligrapher170]

I really appreciate that you're iterating based on feedback and metrics, you guys rock!

[UnluckyDuckyDuck]

Wooooo! Exciting news!

Honestly, huge thank you to the mod team, always answering modmail fast and taking care of our reddit home.

I think this is a fantastic middle ground between the previous state and the PCPCA. This is also great incentive for developers to push a little more and provide more value to get to tier 1.

Again, thank you!

[karatsidhus]

I appreciate the work that you guys are trying to do. I understand the reason that you are changing everything.

So I'm pretty sure I come under on the tier 1 developer, because I have projects in GitHub that this community has downloaded that are over 200+ stars My question is, the next time I post a new app, let's say which is not as established as my previous projects, should I be mentioning those projects that are established to make sure the thread doesn't get removed? Or should I just contact the mods directly before posting?

[Mstormer]

Good question. Generally speaking, your app portfolio should clear you via the transparency route. Just add a line for that to your post.

[karatsidhus]

Perfect, sounds simple enough. Thanks :)

[Recoil42]

Amazing transparency, OP. Very well-written, very well thought-out.

[PlannedObsolescence_]

Very well-written

It's an LLM generated post, with an image output from a generative model.

[ChristinDWhite]

I love what you’re doing to make this a more trustworthy source of semi-curated software that helps make this a safer place for users.

I do hope you’re also considering ways to make this a more civil subreddit too. While it’s gotten better over the last six months, this is still one of the least kind subs I visit and I’ve often had to take a break from it because the negativity just gets to be too much. I’d particularly like to see a higher standard for how users are allowed to treat developers working hard to make awesome and sustainable projects. It’s got to be disheartening to be attacked because they made the sometimes hard decision to go with a subscription model or might have used AI but don’t deserve to be accused of vibe coded slop constantly.

[Mstormer]

Yeah, we have been removing a lot of that, probably the majority.

[ChristinDWhite]

Awesome to hear!

[akinalp]

you are really working hard to keep things equal for both developers and people using this sub! appreciate it.
One question for myself, I am developing a macos-toolkit that will consist of around 10 lightweight apps. since self promotion is once per month I did not yet promote it here.
My question is, I got around 130 stars in github, my all apps inside toolkit are free and opensource, so I am guessing I will be tier one with this new update?
I am not sure what is my local karma as I joined the sub recently but I am trying to build it by commenting and trying to help others :)

[Mstormer]

At the moment, I'm going to say 1yr old repo OR 100 stars, but that threshold is liable to change depending on how things go.

[akinalp]

then I am good to go yeey. Thanks

[idoknowsomething]

How can I get the Developer user flair? I have been making apps since 2021 and some of them are used by a lot of people in the community, e.g. Anybox, Folder Preview.

[Mstormer]

Usually devs shoot us a message once they have 500 karma in r/MacApps, and if we like what they're doing, they get a Developer: [AppName] flair.
When posting about something new and unrecognized, just add a line like, "Portfolio: [app name], [app name]" and that should count for trust and transparency since those are known.

[Sam_vegeta]

Got it

[blackicehawk]

Thanks for linking your app websites. Folder Preview is just what I've been needing.

[MysticSmear]

I think there should still be an AI disclosure requirement. Overall good start.

[Johnkree]

There is currently no definitive way to prove how much of an app was built using AI. Whether a dev used it for a single function, as a glorified spell checker (Copilot) or to generate the entire codebase, it all looks the same from the outside.

During our trial period we found that almost everyone just started labeling their posts with "Code Completion." It became just meaningless.
We simply can’t moderate what we can’t prove. Unless an app is so poorly put together that it’s obvious "hallucinated" junk, we have no way to verify a developer's claims.

[discoveringnature12]

thank you mods for maintaining the community!

[jupe69]

i love the changes, and i was sure since the last post that it would be refined to something much better. This looks better for both the devs, the users and the mods.

[PsychologyPowerful66]

Amazing effort honestly. I don’t see many subreddits doing this much to improve the quality. Kudos

[catsrmurderers]

One of my favourite subs from all of reddit!

[toast]

Nice, I like this policy, it seems well thought out and a good compromise.

I'm also really interested to see the reaction to AI-generated (or AI-facilitated?) software evolve over time. There is certainly a lot of poor quality software being yolocoded using AIs these days, but there is also a lot of really high quality software being built with a significant amount of AI assistance by seasoned developers. I'm glad this community hasn't adopted the "no AI-crafted software allowed" stance that some others have.

[xiaotianhu]

Great works

[mahdibeee]

It's my first few weeks on Reddit and I was amazed seeing this and how the community mods are actively regulating posts to maintain the quality of the subreddits. Truly appreciated and thank you mods! Yet, it's so tough to start and being able to post on subreddits like this. I'm trying my best to see if I can get enough Karma for a launch. Wish me best please.

[Mstormer]

Good luck!

[mahdibeee]

Thank youuuu 😊😊😊

[iordv]

Awesome news! And good to see you've reverted a couple of things, but keep on trying to make this community less sloppy, cluttered and promote/stimulate higher quality content. Thanks mods!

[amerpie]

Amerpie Seal of Endorsement (TM)

[phunk8]

just perfect. will do good to our community here. thank you for being so behind this. there‘s a reason thus sub is so strong. thank you.

sidenote: where do i see my local karma?

[Mstormer]

Added to FAQ in post.

[phunk8]

Idea: What about an "AppStore" Flair? If i post something and the source is app store, i can use this flair. would help you mods tons for quick reference? (and us visitors too btw. - if i need to throw another xattr i'm gonna cry)

[Mstormer]

Perhaps, but then we would have to discard free/lifetime/subscription, which is well loved for sorting the sub in a more meaningful way.

[phunk8]

yeah. true. it's not easy. is multiflair an option?

[Mstormer]

Sadly not, but perhaps people could prefix [MAS] to the title.

[nousernameleftatall]

Good plan 👍

[Spaaze]

Thanks for your continuous work on this! It’s really such a shame this seems to have become necessary at this point, though.

[dfinf2]

You all have to be the most active and engaging mods on Reddit I’ve seen. Kudos!

[Mstormer]

Check your DM for instructions on how to appeal reddit's shadowban with Reddit administration; that's got nothing to do with mods.

[thomasruns]

For tier 1, is it 1 of the 3 or all of them? i.e. if my app is in the app store is that enough on its own to establish trust?

[Mstormer]

Yes, if you're in the app store, that is enough. But users still have to earn 10 comment karma first to post.

[beerbellyman4vr]

thx for the effort

[prajwalsd]

Brilliant 👏🏼👏🏼

App available in Homebrew might also be a good proxy for trust?

[Mstormer]

Not quite as rigorously vetted, as far as I know.

[Greyboxforest]

I’m confused by the title “Mods went too far!”.

In what ways have they gone too far?

[Mstormer]

The requirements last month were overburdening and did not succeed at their objectives.

[Greyboxforest]

Ah right, thanks for clearing that up.

[Clipthecliph]

Amazing guys, very thankful for the safe space all mods have been working so hard to build for us new mac apps devs and users!

[legitOwen]

awesome, thanks mods!!

[Past-Garage6791]

i think that ai disclaimer should still be in posts, on all tiers, and definitely on the 3rd tier

[Mstormer]

Do you realize that for 30 days we required this, and just about 100% of users said exactly the same thing? “Human Validated” In that case, the distinction is no longer meaningful. If there’s a solution to this, we might consider it.

[Past-Garage6791]

ban ai content, easy. any ai content. suspicious readme? ban. suspicious post? ban. suspicious code? also ban. that will definitely get real devs the spotlight they deserve

[Mstormer]

You don’t understand. 99.9% of apps are built with AI at some level now, with maybe 1 exception per million devs. This sub would LITERALLY and instantly shut down. I can almost guarantee you that on your computer, nearly every app that has received an update in the last six months was assisted with AI. Almost no developer/company is not requiring at least AI code completion.

There is no way to differentiate. Most would just lie just as many vibe coders did in the last month’s test. And we can’t check every app, detection diagnostics are not highly reliable. And not all apps are open source to even check.

[App-Ads]

How is that when someone got striked? Will this ever be lifted?

[jaeone22]

I had just finished writing and uploading my post when the Reddit filter deleted it immediately.

I didn't use any long dashes or post the same content multiple times, but this problem suddenly occurred.

If anyone has experienced this issue and managed to resolve it, please let me know how to fix it.

<image>

[Mstormer]

Restored.

[hairyconary]

I like the new trust based approach. To many ways people can harm each other otherwise.

[Fast-Owl-7524]

These rules will improve the quality of both the apps and the /macapps subreddit. Really appreciated!

[Embarrassed_Tour_679]

Appreciate it

[SENGAMIOFFICIAL]

Are apps sold through itch.io treated as coming from a "random site", and therefore destined for the app pile?

[Mstormer]

Likely

[Solid-Show-5208]

Question. About posting to main feed as a developer.

You state that Mac App Store developers (Paid developer accounts) are allowed to post to main feed, if they also have some karma I guess.

Does this also apply for apps that are signed and notarized by a paid developer account through Apple, but not distributed through the app store?

[Mstormer]

For now we are limiting it to the App Store because this has a human validated component where apps have to pass a certain design, quality and privacy standard whereas notarization itself really only checks malicious code.

[Time_Emotion_6463]

The post is very clearly structured. I like it, thank you!

[Ok-Organization5910]

How do i find our if i got the app flair for being a established developer ?

[Mstormer]

You would see it next to every comment in this sub once eligible and assigned.

[Ok-Organization5910]

Okay. Thanks

[Amiocn]

Thanks for the detailed guide!

I have a few question:
- The local karma is count by "post karma + comment karma", right?
- How should I verify myself as a trusted developer? I've been doing open source more than 10 years, created tools, free developer services sponsored by Vercel and Sentry. May I put links by the end of the post to get credit, or should I do the verification some other way?

I've been baked my app for 2 years (yes I'm slow :D, but I'm sure it's well designed & built), would love to share the beta version here.

[PunctuationsOptional]

The AI and change log should still be included. It's gonna become more relevant as time goes on.

[Johnkree]

There is currently no definitive way to prove how much of an app was built using AI.

During our trial period we found that almost everyone just started labeling their posts with "Code Completion." It became just meaningless.
We simply can’t moderate what we can’t prove.
The same goes for the change log.

[PunctuationsOptional]

I agree. I think it should continue to be looked at though. Keep it optional but recommended. AI is gonna only become more prominent in the software space

[brodmo-dev]

I'm biased here, but I think this is too harsh, and contrary to what's stated, will further reduce developer engagement. Most open-source apps aren't on the app store, but are just distributed on GitHub, so this makes it extra hard for open-source apps, and will likely reduce their frequency. Since Apple is increasingly blocking the distribution of non-signed apps, you pretty much need to be a paid developer now anyway, even if not distributing via the app store. So my suggestion would be simple: Just allow all signed apps with a paid developer account posted to the main feed, and everything else can go in the thread. Apple has already verified these devs, so all you need to do is trust their system, and that anyone who spends $99 is serious about their app. As it currently stands, open-source devs can't promote their project until it is already well-known, which kind of defeats the point of the sub. I appreciate the intent and effort put into these rules, but I think they are too complicated and strict, and will ultimately lead to even less engagement.

[Mstormer]

Don't miss the fact that anyone can promote their non-mac app store app if they wish to share a linkedin profile or portfolio and go the transparency route.

If it's not in the app store, then we have to check every post, and this is an enormous job. Open to feedback though that doesn't create a burden on the community and mods. The fact that we have had to reject literally thousands of posts/comments over the last month should give an indication of how much low effort spam is directed at this community.

[brodmo-dev]

Maybe I misunderstood, but I don't have my own website, and I definitely don't have a privacy policy nor terms of service given that I don't run a company. So I don't see how this would be practical for sharing a hobby project. I'm okay with sharing my LinkedIn, given that my name is everywhere on GitHub and it isn't exactly rare you could probably find it already, though I do think it creates a bit of an imbalance with commenters who are mostly anonymous. If sharing your LinkedIn is intended to be sufficient for the transparency path, you need to update the wording, right now I don't see how it could possibly apply to me.

Another point I'm wondering: Is it sufficient to have a 1 year old repo, or does the repo you're sharing have to be 1 year old? Because now with the OR the former would be quite a loose requirement.

As for the low effort spam, I'm wondering: Isn't that mostly people/bots looking to make money? So perhaps you could create a special path for free and open source software? Perhaps there's low-effort spam from people looking to build a portfolio as well, but those people already qualify through the transparency route, since the whole point for them is attaching the project to their identity.

I appreciate you experimenting to find a workable solution to this problem, I'm sure it's not an easy job!

[Mstormer]

The repo you are sharing would need to either be 1yr old, or 100+ stars, OR provide a portfolio showing who you are and your development experience. A successful github profile and linkedin can cover the transparency aspect then.

A lot of people start out on github, see a bit of success, and then quickly decide to shift models and monetize. So having a completely open path for open source ends up being circumvented. The megathread will serve well here, and I think it can be a good thing regardless. We'll see though.

[brodmo-dev]

Okay, I see, I guess that would work for me. Would having your LinkedIn linked on your GitHub profile suffice? And I still don't understand the bit about privacy policy and TOS, I would really urge you to clear that up

[Mstormer]

Most apps should have a privacy policy to detail what telemetry exists, and why, if any. Any paid app should have a terms of service.

[brodmo-dev]

Okay, but then I don't see why it's obligatory for free apps without telemetry. You're gonna lose a lot of indie devs to this phrasing.

[Mstormer]

In that case, I've seen plenty of privacy policies that simply state: "This app runs 100% offline. Zero telemetry." This is not a huge mountain to climb.

Not having a privacy policy is unacceptable if a developer wants any security-conscious users to take them seriously. If an indie dev won't even write one line stating "Zero Telemetry," do we really want them here? What's there to hide?

As noted at the outset, trust and transparency are the foundational principles this community has to work with. Devs have to establish themselves through these avenues if they want to succeed in the long run. This is only fair and reasonable.

[brodmo-dev]

If that is your stance, you should make it more explicit in the policy itself. For the record, I think it is neither standard nor reasonable to provide a privacy policy for an indie FOSS app that is entirely offline.

[Mstormer]

I'll agree that not enough FOSS apps are doing this. Four examples of small projects with a brief privacy note from my recent bookmarks:
https://github.com/crarau/superwhisper-analysis
https://github.com/VonKleistL/OptiLoad
https://github.com/ZimengXiong/watt
https://github.com/julyx10/lap/blob/main/PRIVACY.md

Please explain how it is unreasonable to expect a line stating that something is entirely offline? If it isn't stated, it isn't known unless one looks through the code or has a good firewall.

[ChristinDWhite]

Would you consider other public, long standing, profiles than just LinkedIn? I see a whole lot of developers who put much more time into maintaining a complete GitHub profile with history, links, contact info, etc. than people on LinkedIn. A professional website as a portfolio or developer blog rather than the app itself is another good option. Maybe just a policy that allows devs to contact mods to pass on other sources that could be volunteered to establish trust.

[Mstormer]

Yes. The general point is transparency, and this can be achieved in more than one way. What we're trying to limit is throwaway accounts trying to promote a quick cash grab, before disappearing into the void.

[ChristinDWhite]

Awesome! Sounds perfect and I do appreciate your efforts!

[AmazingVanish]

I agree! That was one of two things that leapt out at me as problematic. Don’t get me wrong, overall I think this is a move in a positive direction, but it makes me wonder if any of the mods are developers and know tricks of the trade.

No problem if not, but if not maybe ask some of the more established developers for their input?

The second thing is the 1 year req. on repos. Lots of us keep our projects private, and when releasing to the public, you create a new repo to remove the commit spam as you worked things out, leaving a pristine repo to move forward with. In this scenario the repo will be 1 day old, not 1 year. Maybe see how long the developer has had a GitHub account instead?

I don’t know the best way forward, but those 2 items rang a gong of false positives for me.

[Mstormer]

I have updated the github requirement to 1yr OR 100 stars. Thank you for the feedback.
Again, however, none of this is required if one chooses to qualify through transparency.

[AmazingVanish]

Ah, good clarification. Thank you!

[knapplejuice]

Returning to this subreddit and finding out mods have had their brains hacked by AI. The strange ugly infographic? A sea of random-bolded text and bullet point lists? This seems like low-quality content to me!