Apple Settles 'FlickType' Developer Lawsuit Over App Store Treatment

Prominent developer Kosta Eleftheriou has settled his 2021 lawsuit against Apple over its App Store review actions that he said hindered his ability to distribute apps on the platform while allowing copycat competitors to flourish, reports TechCrunch.

iOS App Store General Feature Sqaure Complement
In his lawsuit, Eleftheriou complained that Apple repeatedly threw up "roadblock after roadblock" against his FlickType keyboard app for the Apple Watch, only to then allow copycat apps from other developers onto the store. Eleftheriou said that he had been in discussions with Apple about the company acquiring FlickType, and he believes Apple was intentionally targeting his app in the review process to try to force him to sell it at a discount.

Following the filing of the case last year, the two parties participated in court calls with a judge, the court docket shows, including as recently as this spring. A request for dismissal of the lawsuit was subsequently filed on July 21, 2022, after Apple and Kpaw (Eleftheriou’s business) came to an agreement.

Eleftheriou was unable to comment on the terms of the settlement. Apple was not immediately able to comment on the dismissal either.

Eleftheriou has been one of the higher-profile critics of Apple's ‌App Store‌ policies, repeatedly pointing out App Store scams that have slipped through the review process and even into the store's charts of top-performing apps without Apple taking action.

Apple has taken some steps to improve the ability for users to flag problematic apps, such as by bringing back the "Report a Problem" button on ‌App Store‌ listings, but Eleftheriou says he continues to find scam and copycat apps with only minimal effort.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Update for iPhones Coming Soon — Here's What to Expect

Thursday September 25, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. MacRumors has also seen evidence of iOS 26.0.1 in its visitor logs in recent days. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...

Top Rated Comments

antnythr Avatar
40 months ago
Guy deserves to get PAID for this nonsense with Apple
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spaceboi Scaphandre Avatar
40 months ago
Good on him. It's absolutely stupid what happened to FlickType, being denied store approval only for them to get Sherlocked in the Apple Watch Series 7 to the tiniest detail.

God I cannot wait for the Digital Markets Act to go live.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarAnalogy Avatar
40 months ago
I'm disappointed that this ended in a settlement which presumably includes terms that he(?) stop publicly criticizing Apple. I had hoped he was being a bit more altruistic but it seems the money eventually worked.

And I don't say that cynically. The App store has real problems that this person seems to have taken on as a crusade to point out, and opinions were already mixed as to motives. I want to see real improvement to the App Store Apple has been so publicly proud of in court lately, and it's sad to see another voice presumably silenced.

Edit: update 10 months later. This story is the last anyone has heard from this guy publicly about app store problems so it seems I was correct.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarAnalogy Avatar
40 months ago

This clown Kosta Eleftheriou proves that someone can make a bad product and other companies come along and does it infinitely better but if the untalented Kosta Eleftheriou whines enough someone will give him money to shut up.
The allegations are very believable based on decades of documented history of Apple's ruthless business tactics. And whatever the reason (I've never even heard of these apps beyond the news stories) the more visible contribution has been many blog posts since pointing out glaring violations of App Store policy, which in my eyes has been a useful public service.

Please provide references for why this person has been a clown.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
40 months ago
That’s the problem when you have billions in cash, you can just dump money on a desk and the problem magically resolves itself.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eldaerenth Faexidor Avatar
40 months ago
Wether you like him or not, it takes a lot of guts to drag a powerful company like Apple into the courtroom. Seems like he kinda won in a way. Probably got lots of dough. And Apple remains Apple.. unscathed.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)