Freecash was removed from both app stores, then reinstated: the full timeline

Published Aug 16, 2026

If you have seen people asking whether Freecash is a scam, this is where that came from. Between April and June 2026 the app was removed from both the Apple App Store and Google Play, and then restored to both. Freecash is one of the programs listed on this site, so here is the timeline with dates, what each company actually said, and what it means if you use it.

The timeline

January 2026. Freecash downloads jumped from around 876,000 in October 2025 to roughly 5.5 million across both stores. Wired published an investigation into its TikTok advertising, and the security firm Malwarebytes published a report on the app's data collection. TikTok pulled some Freecash ads, citing financial misrepresentation. Freecash's parent company, Berlin-based Almedia, said the misleading ads had been made by third-party affiliates rather than by the company itself.

April 13, 2026. Apple removed the app from the App Store, within hours of TechCrunch contacting the company for comment on its own investigation. Apple cited App Store Review Guidelines 3.1.2(a) and 2.3.1, which prohibit scam practices, bait-and-switch tactics and misleading marketing.

April 15, 2026. Google removed the Android app from Google Play.

May 2026. Google reinstated the app after completing its review. Almedia gives the date as May 7.

June 17, 2026. Apple reinstated the app, and Almedia announced it the same day. Freecash has been available on both stores since.

Throughout, Almedia denied wrongdoing. Its chief executive attributed the removals to media coverage that he described as containing inaccurate and misleading claims. Neither Apple nor Google published an explanation of either the removals or the reinstatements.

What this tells you, and what it does not

Two things are true at once, and most write-ups pick whichever one suits them.

The removals were real, and the guidelines Apple cited are not minor ones. A company can pay its users reliably and still run a marketing operation that two platform owners classify as deceptive. Those are separate questions, and the second one being answered badly does not settle the first.

The reinstatements were also real. Both companies reviewed the app and put it back, five weeks apart. Whatever those reviews found, it was enough for both to restore a product they had pulled.

Anyone who tells you the story ends at either the removal or the reinstatement is telling you half of it.

Worth noticing who is telling you

Search for whether Freecash is a scam and a good share of the results are published by competing rewards platforms. An article on a competitor's blog that concludes you should use that competitor instead is not necessarily wrong, but it was not written to help you decide.

We should declare our own angle too. Freecash is listed here, and this site earns when someone draws a referral code and signs up. That is exactly why this article does not end with a list of alternatives.

What it means in practice

If you already use Freecash, the app is available on both stores and the website is operating. The practical advice is the same as it was before April, and the same as for any program in this category: withdraw your balance rather than letting it build up, keep records of offers you complete in case credit is disputed, and treat any advertised hourly rate as marketing rather than a forecast.

If you are deciding whether to start, the app store record is now part of what you know. So is the fact that both stores reviewed the app and restored it. That is a judgment call, and it is yours to make rather than ours to make for you.

Why we put a date on everything

This is the clearest example we have of why every program page here carries the date its facts were last checked.

A Freecash review published in March 2026 would have been accurate and completely silent about all of this. One published in early May would have told you the app was gone from both stores, which stopped being true in June. A page with no date on it cannot tell you which of those you are reading, and most pages in this category have no date on them.

What we have verified about Freecash, and when we last checked it, is on the Freecash program page. If any of it goes out of date, that page is where the correction will appear.