App Store Censorship

App store censorship is the removal or restriction of mobile applications by Apple or Google from their respective stores — the App Store and Google Play — for reasons that go beyond genuine safety and fraud concerns into political, ideological, or competitive territory. Apple and Google together control 100% of smartphone app distribution through their duopoly, giving them unmatched power to disappear apps from billions of devices simultaneously.

What it means

High-profile cases: Parler was removed from both stores within 48 hours in January 2021, citing content on the platform — a coordinated action that effectively took the app offline, since few users know how to sideload. Gab was removed from the Google Play Store years earlier. Conservative news apps have been removed or downgraded in search results. The consistency of these actions across platforms that are supposedly competitive suggests coordination or a shared cultural bias in Silicon Valley moderation teams.

The EU's Digital Markets Act now requires Apple to allow third-party app stores in Europe — a significant regulatory challenge to app store censorship, though one limited to one jurisdiction.

How it works on Gab

Gab has been removed from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. The response: a Progressive Web App (PWA) installable from gab.com on both iPhone and Android. Gab's independence from app store infrastructure is part of its broader design philosophy: not depending on any single gatekeeper with the power to remove it.

Related terms

App store censorship is a form of deplatforming. The technical workarounds are sideloading (for native apps on open platforms) and PWAs (Gab's approach). Big Tech's control of app stores is one of the most concrete manifestations of its gatekeeping power.