Post by @amyworrall@mastodon.social

2026-09-23 10:30 UTC

@mikesax@mas.to I went back and forth about Mac App Store for a while. The reasons I didn’t go for it were: * The SF Symbol browser feature uses private APIs. (Could be mitigated by making it a plugin…) * I wasn’t sure if Apple would get weird about an app that allows working with SF Symbols. Like, _technically_ McKinley lets you convert them to Android format… * I want to charge for major version upgrades, and that code is a hassle on the App Store. All could be mitigated I guess!

Replies (2)

@mikesax@mas.to 2026-09-23 18:04

@amyworrall@mastodon.social SF Symbol licensing: I have a hybrid web/native app and wanted SF Symbols in the webview, so I export them as SVG symbols. Apple's license allows the standard set on Apple devices, but not on non-Apple ones. The web interface uses a different, non-Apple set: my server checks the client header, and for anything but a webview or Safari, it serves the third-party set. That complies with the license. For symbols I design, it doesn't apply unless they're variations of an existing symbol. If you point people to the official SF Symbols license page, App Review should be fine. It's entirely legitimate for people to use McKinley to design their own symbols and export them however they want. Upgrades: a subscription on the App Store and “buy once•pay for upgrades” for direct purchases would make sense. A great value of the SF Symbols format is its weight and color variants. Reaching out to existing symbol library providers about what current tools lack could open up opportunities.

Open ##5074401
@stefan@gloria.social 2026-09-24 06:13

@amyworrall@mastodon.social @mikesax@mas.to App Store won’t help you to sell more. You’ll just get some more extra hassle.

Open ##5074402