r/iOSProgramming rules, stats, and what to post

This is a community for people who build software on Apple platforms. The public description says it exists to discuss and share articles, code samples, open source projects, and anything else related to iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, or visionOS development. So the people posting here are iOS developers, indie app makers, and engineers working on Apple platform products. They come to talk about code, share what they built, and help each other with development problems. If your product or story connects to building apps for Apple devices, you are in the right room. If it does not, the rules say posts unrelated to development on any Apple platform may be removed.

The rule that decides most marketing posts here is “Self-promotion is allowed to some extent”. If your product or service is behind a paywall, you need to include a description of it, the challenges you faced, and ideally a technical overview. Freely accessible products get a more lenient treatment, but blatant advertisements and spam are not allowed, and articles or links that exist only to promote a paid product can be removed. The second rule to plan around is “Only post your app on Saturday”. You may post about one app, once a year, it does not have to be your first app, and you cannot post about multiple different apps in the same year. The rule also asks you to avoid posting a few hours before a new day and to have some previous activity in the community first. Third, “Posts must be about Apple platform development” means anything unrelated to development on iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, or visionOS can be removed, including Android development posts. Finally, “Frequently posted topics” restricts job ads, job offers, requests, and app ideas to the Discord server, so keep those out of the subreddit.

The strongest marketing post here is a technical story, not an ad. If your product is paid, write up what it does, the challenges you faced building it, and a technical overview of how it works. That combination is exactly what “Self-promotion is allowed to some extent” asks for, and it reads like the kind of content developers actually want. If your product is free or open source, you have more room, so sharing a library, a code sample, or a tool you built is a natural fit for this community. If you want to post about your own app, save it for Saturday, follow the app post content guidelines the rule links to, and make sure you have some previous activity in the community first. A deep dive on a tricky iOS problem you solved, with code, is the kind of post that fits the description of this subreddit perfectly and quietly builds the reputation you need before any promotion.

The fastest way to lose a post here is breaking the Saturday rule. Posting about your app on a weekday, posting about a second app in the same year, or posting without prior activity in the community all go against “Only post your app on Saturday”. The second trap is thin self-promotion. A link that only exists to push a paid product, with no description, no challenges, and no technical overview, is exactly what “Self-promotion is allowed to some extent” says can be removed. Blatant ads and spam are out in every case. Off topic posts are another risk, because “Posts must be about Apple platform development” covers Android development and anything not about development at all. Keep job ads, job offers, requests, and app ideas off the subreddit too, since “Frequently posted topics” sends those to the Discord server. And of course, “Be civil” applies to everything, so stay polite in comments and keep content appropriate for all ages.

The Saturday rule is the one that stops me in my tracks. One app post per year, and not even in the hours before a new day starts, means you get a single shot at this audience annually, so I would spend real time making that one post count. I also like that paid promotion is allowed at all, as long as you bring a technical overview and honest challenges, which tells me this room rewards builders who show their work.