Terry Godier submitted Dark Hours, an astronomy app, to Apple’s App Store and received a rejection claiming it pertained to astrology. The app has no tarot function, no horoscopes, and is entirely focused on astronomy as a science—not the pseudoscientific practice of astrology.
According to John Gruber’s writeup on Daring Fireball, the initial rejection appeared to conflate the two similar-sounding but distinct subjects. However, Godier appealed the decision, proceeding through escalations to the App Review Board. Rather than correcting the error, the Review Board upheld the rejection with a new justification: claiming the app “includes a live tarot reading feature,” which it does not contain.
Gruber notes the interaction stands in stark contrast to what would be expected from a functioning review system. In a typical scenario, a developer would clarify the distinction between astronomy and astrology, the reviewer would acknowledge the mistake, and the app would be approved. Instead, the App Review Board doubled down with a factually incorrect claim about features that don’t exist—a response Gruber compares to Kafkaesque bureaucratic absurdity.
Gruber describes Dark Hours as exceptionally well-designed, featuring native Liquid Glass UI, smooth scrolling, and careful typography and layout. He argues it represents the caliber of app the App Store should celebrate, not reject, and that approval would raise the quality bar for astronomy apps on the platform. The app functions as a native iOS application offering more utility than its website counterpart.
The repeated rejections based on demonstrably false grounds highlight a systemic issue with Apple’s App Review process, according to Gruber. While mistakes in review are inevitable, functioning systems correct obvious errors quickly and apologetically. The Dark Hours rejections suggest Apple’s App Store review system lacks adequate mechanisms for correcting clear factual mistakes, even when those mistakes are easily verifiable through basic interaction with the submitted app.
Key facts
- Dark Hours is an astronomy app with no tarot or horoscope features
- Apple’s App Store initially rejected it claiming astrology content
- On appeal, the Review Board claimed the app includes a tarot reading feature, which it does not
- The app features native iOS design with Liquid Glass UI and smooth typography
- The developer escalated through multiple levels of appeal without success