The app recommendation tool, which still boasts more than 10 million users on iOS, was pulled by Apple for breaking the firm's rule on 'apps that could be confused for an app store' in their own right.
It was also suggested that Apple had objected to AppGratis' use of push notifications, claiming the platform broke clause 5.6, which regulates against apps that "use push notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind".
'Brutal'
Nonetheless, AppGratis now appears to be alive and well in much the same form on Google's marketplace, where history suggests it will encounter far less obstacles placed in its path.
AppGratis on Google Play
The removal of AppGratis caused a vast amount of controversy at the time, with the firm itself launching a petition against the decision, which before closure amassed more than 950,000 emails of support.
Apple also faced the scorn of France's digital industry minister Fleur Pellerin, who refered to the American giant's action against AppGratis as "extremely brutal," stating that Apple had acted "unilaterally and without explanation."
The silence is deafening
Indeed, AppGratis CEO Simon Dawlat revealed Apple only got in contact with AppGratis after the platform had been removed from the marketplace.
"Since our App was removed, we have had one telephone conversation with an Apple employee who repeated the content of Apple's email to us, and refused to discuss the matter further," Dawlat said back in April.
"Since then Apple has not returned any of our calls. It goes without saying that I am still very keen to speak to them."
Apple remains largely silent on the issue, though rival app discovery platforms have since been approved for sale on the App Store, adding further confusion as to how Apple applies its own rules and regulations.
