Rave, a developer from Ontario known for its social video-sharing and co-viewing app, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple after being removed from the App Store.
This move starts a new legal battle over how much control Apple has over apps that compete with its own services. The complaint was filed in U.S. federal court in New Jersey and asks for Rave to be reinstated to the App Store, along with ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’ in damages.
In a separate announcement, Rave said it is also taking legal action in the United States, Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Russia.
Rave says Apple pushed out a rival to SharePlay
At the center of the dispute is Apple’s SharePlay feature, which lets users watch and discuss content together.
Reuters reported that Rave alleges Apple removed the app in 2025 under a claim of dishonest or fraudulent activity, but says the real motive was competitive: Rave relied mainly on advertising revenue and therefore did not generate App Store commissions in the same way in-app purchases do, while also competing with Apple’s own co-viewing product introduced in 2021.
Business Wire’s statement goes even further, saying Apple acted to monopolize the market for smartphone co-viewing by replacing a cross-platform product with an “iPhone-exclusive” service that steers users back into Apple’s own ecosystem.
Rave argues that its main advantage was its ability to connect users across different platforms, something Apple’s system does not usually support.
Rave’s app lets people watch videos, movies, and TV shows together ‘in real time’ on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS.
Rave claims this cross-platform feature threatened Apple’s ‘closed iOS ecosystem.’
The app is still available on Android and Windows, which supports Rave’s argument that the issue is not about the app’s existence, but about whether it can reach iPhone users fairly.
Apple says the removal was about safety and rule violations
Apple is denying the lawsuit’s claims. Apple called the case ‘baseless’ and said Rave was removed after ‘repeated guideline violations,’ which Apple said it had told the developer about several times.
According to Apple’s statement, these violations included ‘hosting and sharing pornographic and pirated content’ and user complaints about CSAM, or child sexual abuse material.
Rave has strongly denied the accusations. A company spokesperson called the CSAM claims ‘baseless’ and said Rave has ‘zero tolerance for unlawful or exploitative content.’
Apple gave ‘multiple justifications,’ including unclear fraud claims and general moderation concerns, ‘without ever identifying any specific conduct by Rave’ that broke the rules.
Rave also said it has created ‘industry-leading content moderation and age verification technologies,’ which it now licenses to other companies.
Another test of App Store control
This case comes at a time when Apple is already facing criticism over its App Store policies.
Apple has been in a legal battle with Epic Games since 2020 over in-app purchase commissions, which has already led to ‘sweeping changes’ in Apple’s business model.
Rave is trying to link its case to this larger debate, arguing that Apple’s control affects not only pricing but also whether competing apps can survive. CEO Michael Pazaratz said Apple’s actions ‘limited choice’ for users and should worry all app developers.
At this point, Rave’s complaint is still only an allegation, and Apple continues to defend its decision on safety grounds.
However, this lawsuit is another major challenge to Apple’s App Store rules and raises the question of whether platform control can become anti-competitive.
