I believe in offering Cardaris as a completely free tool for everyone. Unfortunately, Apple's policies regarding third-party developers create a significant barrier to this mission. A mandatory annual fee of $99 is required to publish any application on the App Store, regardless of whether that app is free or generates any revenue.

From its inception, Cardaris was designed to be free in every sense: no paywalled features, no advertisements, and absolutely no user tracking. To publish on the App Store under these principles, I would be required to personally fund the $99 annual fee. I have made the conscious decision not to participate in a system that places a recurring financial burden on the developers of free software.

This situation is compounded by Apple's restrictive ecosystem. With the exception of customers in the EU, Apple prohibits the "sideloading" of applications on the iPhone, leaving the App Store as the only viable distribution channel. This forces developers into a difficult position: either compromise their principles by monetizing a free app, or personally bear the annual cost of doing business with Apple. This is before considering the 15-30% commission Apple takes from all sales and in-app purchases, which further underscores the platform's financial demands.

Until Apple implements a more equitable system that allows genuinely free applications to be published without a recurring cost to the developer, Cardaris will not be available on the App Store. If you have an iOS device, you can use the fully-featured Progressive Web App (PWA) for a comparable experience.