Apple rejects dictation app WhisperPad for using accessibility API, developer appeals unsuccessfully
By
Rene Zelaya
Fresh out the oven, still warm. Top of the tray.
Summary
A developer with a progressive hand injury built WhisperPad, a dictation app that uses the accessibility API to auto-paste transcribed text. Apple rejected the app under Guideline 2.4.5 for using accessibility APIs for a non-accessibility purpose. After an unsuccessful appeal, the developer split the app into two versions: a compliant manual-paste version on the App Store and the original auto-paste version available directly. The article explores the tension between Apple's strict API policies and real-world accessibility needs for users with disabilities.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledI built WhisperPad because I needed it.
Apple rejected my app under Guideline 2.4.5, which prohibits using accessibility APIs for non-accessibility purposes.
After an appeal that ended in another rejection, I split it into two versions — a compliant one on the App Store, and the original auto-paste version, direct.
Maybe the bill came due for spending most of my life on a keyboard: a childhood of video games, then 10 years working in tech.
It was a progressive injury, so there was no single dramatic moment; just a slow narrowing of how much I could do in a day.
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