Notability: App Store subscription model backlash over locked features
Legacy users who previously purchased an app are losing access to free editing, new features, and previously owned content after the developer transitioned to a mandatory subscription model. This transition violates App Store guidelines (section 3.1.2(a)) because it removes features from customers who already bought the application.
8 different people have complained about this since 17 Aug 2023, most recently on 21 Oct 2026. 1 of them in the last 30 days.
- “I hate subscription will never go that direction.”
- “Now I am unable to use it to edit notes freely as they have changed to a subscription model.”
- “Notability: AI Notes & Planner — Poor subscription model - Update - they rolled back most of this.”
8 people in 8 posts across 1 source · 1 in the last 30 days, 3 in the 30 before
The pain
shares of 8 peopleWhat goes wrong, and for whom
- Who
- 8 people using Notability: AI Notes & Planner
- What goes wrong
- Forced subscription model for classic paid buyers7 people · 88%
- Since
- 17 Aug 2023 → 21 Oct 2026
Is this a startup idea?
Not directly. These are complaints about a product or service people already use — the fix belongs first to that provider.
- Complaints are about
- Notability: AI Notes & Planner
- Looking for something else
- 0% want an alternative · 13% ask the provider for a feature
- What the numbers say
- Almost nobody is looking for a different product — people want this provider to fix it, not a new option.
The pain — what people say
Their asks, who is writing, and the posts themselves
What people were doing
Every post behind this page, by what its author was doing — and when each one was written
- Complaint788%
- Request113%
Sources
8 signals · 1 sources
Evidence
Raw public posts behind this opportunity — click through to the original. 1 post was held back as off-topic; all 8 still count toward the score.
…ere generous… They could at least give an option to buy new features. I hate subscription will never go that direction. Check Colla app, better, cheaper…
Strong complaint…ait and switch I have purchased this app for full price in the past. Now I am unable to use it to edit notes freely as they have changed to a subscription model. This is against App Store guidelines section 3.1.2(a) which states that an app switching to a subscription model cannot remove features for those who have…
Notability: AI Notes & Planner — Poor subscription model - Update - they rolled back most of this Update: it has been about three years since this change, and old users got grandfathered into notability classic. I am still unhappy about the constant prompts to upsell old users on new features, but at least they didn’t…
…, for the next year, and will then be downgraded to the free version. This is against App Store guidelines section 3.1.2(a) which states that an app switching to a subscription model cannot remove features for those who have previously purchased the app. Edit: thanks for the reply… five years later.
Notability: AI Notes & Planner — Disgraceful change in terms of use I am so * angry with Notability, I bought the app a couple of years ago and now they are restricting the “number of edits” unless you pay to unlock. It’s a disgrace, couldn’t even get through one 2hr meeting until I reached the limit of my “edits”…
Market and score
Products already there, how the score moved, and what it is made of
Opportunity history
Every score change is stored as a snapshot — click a sub-score to overlay it
Why did it move?
Score unchanged at 43.6 · 05 Nov 2026, 00:00 → 01:15 UTC
How the score was measured39 measured values behind the seven sub-scores · each shows the value, then the points it earned out of 100Show ↓Hide ↑
Questions about this idea
- Is App Store subscription model backlash over locked features a startup idea?
- Not directly. These are complaints about a product or service people already use, and the fix belongs first to that provider. The page shows what is frustrating users and how badly — not an open market to start a company in.
- How many people have this problem?
- 8 different people described it independently, in 8 mentions, the earliest from 17 Aug 2023 and the most recent from 21 Oct 2026. The quotes, with dates and links to the originals, are in the Evidence section.
- Is this problem getting worse?
- Status: steady — no change the counts can show. 1 people raised it in the last 30 days and 3 in the 30 days before; the status compares its share of everything collected from the same source, so collecting more or less cannot create a trend.
Adjacent opportunities
Nearest neighbours by embedding similarity
Have you run into this?
Written by readers, except comments marked Team, which are ours. Not part of the evidence above and not counted in any score.
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