Apple Approves, Then Pulls FlexBright Display Adjustment App ⇥ macrumors.com

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

FlexBright, an app that allows the user to manually adjust the display temperature of an iOS device, was recently approved by Apple, marking one of the first third-party apps that’s able to function in a manner similar to the company’s own Night Shift mode, set to be released in iOS 9.3. The only catch is it must be triggered somewhat manually in response to a notification, rather than continuously, like Night Shift or f.lux.

Currently available for download in the App Store, FlexBright was created by Intelligent Apps, who worked with Apple to find a way to implement blue light reduction capabilities. […]

According to one of the developers behind FlexBright, using this notification system was the only way Apple would allow the app to change brightness or blue light while running in the background. The app does not use private APIs to change the screen temperature, instead utilizing a “native objective-c library that filters the blue light from the iOS screen.”

I was surprised that this app was approved in the first place; I was even more surprised that the developers apparently sought advice from Apple. Of course, it was likely one person in app review who advised them, and they were apparently wrong.

This inconsistency must be very frustrating for both Intelligent Apps and f.lux. They should anticipate similar features being treated similarly, but that didn’t happen here — at least, not initially. That’s something that needs to be fixed.