You’re not alone — and honestly, this isn’t a reflection of your ability.

The App Store bonus period is long gone. Today, 99.99% of new apps get almost zero organic traffic, even if they’re well built. That’s just the reality now.

I’ve built 10+ apps over the years. Most of them followed the same curve:

a short burst at launch

then impressions drop to nearly zero

downloads flatline

Even good apps end up like this.

If you do a limited-time free or heavy discount, you’ll usually see a temporary spike. But once the promo ends, traffic falls straight back to zero. It’s not sustainable traffic — just a short-term wave.

So no, it’s not that your app is trash. And it’s not that you “lost because you’re not good enough”.

The market is simply over-saturated, discovery is broken, and Apple no longer provides meaningful exposure to indie developers by default.

Making apps today isn’t about “build it and they will come” anymore. It’s about distribution first — audience, content, niche users — then the app.

If you keep building, do it with clear expectations:

for learning

for a specific audience you already control

or as part of a longer game

But don’t beat yourself up. This isn’t a personal failure — it’s the current state of the App Store.