"We Learn Words" is actually Russia's largest K-12 learning platform: after Apple pulled it, it relisted under a new name
What it is: the iOS client of Uchi.ru, Russia's K-12 online learning platform, relisted under a "learn words" name and an empty developer account.
Why it took off: 2026-06-25 Apple pulled it, and come September, iOS users had nothing to install for school. When it came back under the new name, three forces pulled old users in: teacher assignments, web pages forcing a pop-up, and "3x eggs in the app." It climbed to #2 on the Russian education chart, where the entry bar is low.
DHow you could follow: indie devs shouldn't. What you can borrow is the "relist-after-removal, pull users back" playbook used by existing big platforms, plus K12's gamification ideas (class leaderboards, monthly tournaments, virtual currency, teachers as a channel), and that requires getting into schools first.
- Data (updated daily) · launched 2026-09-06 · Russia rating 448 · 11-08 best overall Top Free rank #110 (Russia) · charted in 11-08 2 stores
iOS · Overall Top Free rank · by store Data 2026-10-28 → 2026-11-08 (12 days, 12 observations). Lower rank is higher; gaps mean it wasn't charted that dayiOS · Number of stores charted (top 200 on any chart) Data 2026-10-28 → 2026-11-08 (12 days, 12 observations)iOS · ratings · Russia Data 2026-10-28 → 2026-11-08 (12 days, 12 observations). Apple doesn't publish download counts; rating growth is a proxy for downloads.
The #2 free app in the Russian App Store education chart is "Учимся словам" ("We Learn Words"). The developer is New river house limited, which has only this one app. The store page talks about learning words and competing with classmates. In reality it's Uchi.ru: the online learning platform Russian teachers use daily to assign homework. In June Apple pulled it; in September it came back quietly under this new name. Its numbers are all existing users moving over, with no new demand. Below: how it came back, how users got pushed in, and why this is something you can learn from but can't copy.
The comments under a removal notice
On 2026 Jun 25, Uchi.ru's parents' community posted on VK: "Apple has removed the Uchi.ru student and parent apps from the App Store." The notice told people not to delete or reinstall apps already on their phones, and to use the mobile web version. The same day, Apple removed a batch of apps controlled by VK (reported by Meduza and Reuters 6-25). Mail.ru Group, now VK, bought the controlling stake in Uchi.ru in 2020 (ComNews), so it was probably cleared along with the VK group. That's inference; Apple gave no reason.
After September started, the comments on that notice became a support desk. On Sep 26 a parent wrote: a new app has appeared in the App Store, now called "учимся словами." On Sep 28 the official account replied with a direct App Store link and said "log in with your Uchi.ru username and password." On Oct 24 another parent wrote: "Today the teacher asked us to download it for the child, and I thought it couldn't be found." (VK, wall-61888001_94782)
Searching the store for "Uchi.ru" doesn't find it. People who want it have to ask officially for the link or wait for their teacher to send it.
Not stated on the store page, but everything lines up
The store description covers only word learning and "monthly class tournaments." It doesn't mention Uchi.ru, or subjects like math and Russian. The name is generic and sits under an empty developer account, built to pass review and stay unrecognizable. Plenty of details still match:
- The package is 365MB. A word-learning app wouldn't be that big; a full subject platform would.
- The Nov 5 1.05 version's update notes mention "parent section," "how many tasks were completed this month," and "rewards," all of which exist in Uchi.ru's parent app already (App Store, 11-06).
- Reviews include someone asking directly "is this Uchi Ru?!" and others saying "the app gives more eggs." Eggs, gems, marathons and olympiads are all part of Uchi.ru's own incentive system.
- Some parents complain a year of preschool costs 6,000 rubles, and others say they bought a course they can't use. The payment system came over intact.
This isn't a one-off in Russia. appleinsider.ru in July listed a batch of "reskinned relaunches": T-Uchebnik renamed "Kak Zhit," Rutube renamed "SlicingDices," VTB Investments renamed "GetQuot." The online school Foxford, ranked #43 on the same chart, is also under an individual developer account.
How much it grew, and what it was compared against
| 10-28 | 11-06 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cumulative ratings | 259 | 415 |
| Added that day | 7(10-29) | 13, up to 28 in a single day |
| Russia education Top Free | #2 | |
| Russia overall Top Free | #71 |
(App Store Russia, 10-28 to 11-06; average 4.33 stars.)
Only 415 ratings. It sits on an Android version with about 12.3M installs and 2025B rubles in revenue over 4.2 years on Google Play (per audit-it.ru and the RBC company database), which is tiny. Two reasons: few Russian schoolkids use iPhones, and many families keep the old version they installed before it was pulled. It works, so they don't upgrade. Reviews say "the old one still gets in, the new one doesn't." The Russian education chart also has a low bar: 100+ new ratings a week is enough to land near the top. #1 is the state app "Госуслуги Моя школа" at about 113k ratings.
Who pushed users in
Not ads, and not store search. X has had no discussion in nearly 60 days, and TikTok search turns up nothing relevant. Four forces pushed it, and the first three show up in the comments:
- Teachers and schools. "The teacher recommended it," "the school requires it," "school-recommended." Uchi.ru was already where teachers assign homework, so one word from a teacher gets the whole class to install.
- Web pop-ups. Oct 6 comment: "The web version won't load anymore; a forced pop-up makes you go download this app." A parent on VK also said "the mobile web version is telling me to download the app."
- In-app currency. Oct 22 bad review: "The ad said you get 3x eggs in this app." The game currency kids earn became the bait for the move.
- Official community posting links one by one. The name was chosen to be hard to search, so support staff had to post direct links in comments and DMs.
The costs show up in reviews too: a big pile of login-failure complaints, "the website password doesn't work in the app," and "I already paid for the subscription, the kid can't study, who refunds this?"
Where the money comes from
It's still Uchi.ru's original model: homework is free, subject courses and annual plans cost money. Reviews mention a year of preschool at 6,000 rubles, a "popular" plan, and gems. One bad review says "even the teachers are being pulled into selling paid courses." The new iOS shell is just an entry point; the whole platform is what makes the money. How much it earns on iOS can't be seen from outside.
If it were you
D: worth understanding, not worth copying. Its volume comes from three things you can't get: tens of millions of existing accounts, the homework channel of teachers across Russia, and the gap left by an Apple removal. The product itself is no different from the web and Android versions, so there's no "do it better" gap to exploit.
Who it suits: platforms that already have a large user base and have been removed or restricted in a store. Its relaunch playbook can be copied directly: relist under a generic name with an empty developer account; pop-ups on the web, homework flows and in-app currency all push people into the app at once; official communities post direct links one by one.
Who it doesn't suit: indie developers without an existing user base. Building a K12 word-learning or class-competition app for Russian iOS won't catch these users. They follow teachers and accounts; they don't browse the store for apps.
The one thing to learn: K12's class leaderboards, monthly tournaments, virtual currency and teachers as a channel are the core of Uchi.ru's growth. The prerequisite is getting into schools first, so teachers are willing to distribute assignments for you. That's a field-sales and partnerships job, not an app-building one.
How to acquire users: there's no channel to borrow. Its distribution lives entirely in its own web pages, homework system and community, and outsiders can't get in.
Window: on the side unrelated to it, the window depends on Apple. Disguised relistings are generally cleaned up in another round, so how long this shell survives is uncertain (inferred).
How you could be wrong: (1) if a new app with no platform backing climbs into the top five of the Russian education chart within weeks via class competition or word learning, it shows iOS demand there is genuinely unmet and worth a serious look; (2) if Uchi.ru is removed again and users don't migrate to any replacement, the iOS gap is real, and the opportunity lies on the replacement side, not in following it.
Research notes: competitor table, acquisition evidence, full research report
- Competitors
Name Where Launched Scale How it differs from this one Uchi.ru legacy iOS app / teacher app iOS 2020 / 2022 2026-06-25 removed Same product; the new shell is its stand-in, using the same accounts Госуслуги Моя школа iOS 2025-02 RU Education Top Free #1, about 113k ratings A national school platform handling homework and diaries, not selling gamified subject courses Моя школа Дневник / Дневник МЭШ / Дневник.ру iOS 2016–2022 7–150k ratings E-diaries and grade tracking. No practice, no paid courses. Фоксфорд: Учебник и тренажер iOS 2023-02 ~11.5k ratings, #43 in RU Education (free) Same-category online school, also a disguised relaunch. Skews to older grades and exam prep. ЛогикЛайк iOS 2024-01 ~32k ratings, #11 in RU Education (free) Logic training for preschool and primary kids. Not tied to school homework. ЯКласс / Skysmart / Яндекс Учебник Web Not charted in our RU iOS library (unverified) Also a school homework platform, but no comparable iOS client Duolingo / Quizlet iOS 2012 RU ~630k / 79k ratings Only overlaps with the disguise's "vocab" description. Not a real competitor. - Where users come from
- Confirmed Old-user migration (log in with Uchi.ru account): official VK post 2026-09-28: "Для входа используйте логин и пароль от своего аккаунта на Учи.ру"; many reviews complain that old accounts fail to log in.
- Confirmed Teachers and schools assign it: reviews say "Это нам был совет учителя", "Обязательное приложение в гимназии", "Рекомендовано школой"; VK 2026-10-24: "учитель сказала скачать детям".
- Confirmed Forced redirect from the web version: 2026-10-06 review: "Через веб версию больше не дает зайти, принудительно выходит окно через это приложение"; VK parents report "мобильная версия отправляет скачать приложение".
- Confirmed In-app currency bonuses: 2026-10-22 review: "Писали в рекламе, что дают в 3 раза больше яиц в этом приложении".
- Confirmed Official VK community sends direct links: vk.ru/wall-61888001_94782. The official reply links apps.apple.com/ru/app/id6803843641. Searching "Учи.ру" in the App Store doesn't surface it.
- Inferred Paid acquisition, TikTok, X: x-radar has 60 posts in the last 0 days; TikTok search turns up nothing relevant.
Учимся словам (ios_6803843641) research report
In short: this isn't a new vocab app. It's the iOS client of Uchi.ru, Russia's largest online platform for K-12 students. 2026-06-25 Apple pulled it, so it relaunched under a generic name, "Учимся словам" ("Let's learn words"), registered to a shell developer, "New river house limited". The "breakout" on the data card is really Uchi.ru's old users being pushed into the new shell by schools, teachers, and the web version.
0. Identity confirmed (the key finding)
- Uchi.ru confirmed: the official VK community for "Uchi.ru for parents" replied to a parent on 2026-09-28: "действительно, вышло приложение для iOS в App Store. Его можно скачать по ссылке: apps.apple.com/ru/app/id6803843641 … Для входа используйте логин и пароль от своего аккаунта на Учи.ру" (yes, an iOS app has come out on the App Store, download link above; log in with your Uchi.ru account credentials). The post was the takedown notice from 2026-06-25, and in the comments 2026-09-26 a parent wrote: "Приложение появилось app store, теперь называется \"учимся словами\"" (the app showed up on the App Store, now called "learning words"). Source: vk.ru/wall-61888001_94782
- Takedown context: the same official post (2026-06-25) says "Компания Apple удалила приложение Учи.ру для школьников и родителей из App Store". The same day Apple removed all of VK's holdings' apps (Meduza, Reuters 2026-06-25). Mail.ru Group (now VK) bought a blocking stake in Uchi.ru in 2020 (ComNews 2020-12-08), so Uchi.ru was likely swept up as part of the VK group. That causal link is an inference; Apple didn't state a reason. The teacher app "Учи.ру для учителей" was also pulled, and the official page mobile-teacher.uchi.ru now only links to RuStore, Google Play, and AppGallery.
- Store page evidence (iTunes lookup, 2026-11-06):
- bundleId is
st.learner.main; - the developer account has only these 1 apps;
- Russian only;
- the package is 365MB, far too large for a vocab app. Full subject platforms are that size;
- the 1.05 version (2026-11-05) release notes mention "parent section, monthly task count stats, rewards", identical to Uchi.ru's parent portal.
- bundleId is
- Review evidence (App Store RU reviews): users ask directly "Это учи ру?!" and write "Мне очень нравится учи ру". The mentioned "яйца" (eggs), "алмазы" (diamonds), "марафон", and "олимпиады" are all Uchi.ru's signature reward system. One user complains that "6000 руб в год для дошкольника" is too expensive and that the subject courses they bought don't work.
- The store description is deliberately narrow: it only talks about "vocab + monthly class tournaments". It doesn't mention Uchi.ru or any subjects like math or Russian, clearly to get past review and avoid brand recognition. This is the same playbook Russian banking and service apps used after their removals, relaunching under new names: appleinsider.ru 2026-07-20 listed one, with Т-Учебник becoming "Как Жить", Rutube becoming "SlicingDices", ВТБ Инвестиции becoming "GetQuot", and others.
1. Data
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 2026-09-06 (official VK 9-28 made the link public) | iTunes lookup / VK |
| Score | ~172 (early October, from search snippets on the Apple review page, date unverified) → 259 (10-28) → 415 (11-06). Latest lookup: 419 | appstore library app_day; Jina search snippets |
| Daily new ratings | 7–28 per day; +138 over the last 7 days | appstore library |
| Charts | RU Education free chart #2 (#1 is Госуслуги Моя школа, ~113k ratings); RU overall free chart #71; BY Education free chart #22 (~0 Belarusian ratings, likely spillover from across the border) | appstore library 2026-11-06 |
| Average rating | 4.33 | iTunes lookup |
| Parent company scale | Uchi.ru 2025 revenue ₽4.2B (+16%); Android app com.uchi.app ~12.3M installs | audit-it.ru, companies.rbc.ru; googleplay library |
Note: 415 ratings is very few for a platform with 10M-scale users. iOS has a low share among Russian schoolchildren, and many families kept the old version installed before the takedown (the official advice was "don't delete, don't reinstall"; a review says "В старое заходит без проблем, в новое не пускает"). New-shell downloads come mainly from new school-year enrollees and people whose old version stopped working.
2. Competitors
| Competitors | Platform | Launched | Scale | How it differs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uchi.ru old iOS app (id1536189561) / teacher app (id1612962263) | iOS | 2020 / 2022 | 2026-06-25 pulled; lookup returns 0 | It's the old app's stand-in, with the same accounts and content |
| Госуслуги Моя школа(Минкомсвязь) | iOS | 2025-02 | RU Education free #1,113,466 | State school platform for homework and diaries, doesn't sell courses |
| Моя школа Дневник / Дневник МЭШ / Дневник.ру | iOS | 2016–2022 | 7–150k ratings | E-diaries and grades. No gamified practice. |
| Фоксфорд: Учебник и тренажер (under individual developer "Artem Subbotin") | iOS | 2023-02 | 11,522 ratings, #43 in Education (free) | Same-category online school, also a disguised relaunch. Skews to older grades and exam prep. |
| ЛогикЛайк(LogicLike) | iOS | 2024-01 | 32,478 ratings, #11 in Education (free) | Logic training for preschool and primary kids. Not tied to school curricula. |
| Т-Учебник (disguised as "Как Жить") | iOS | — | Not verified | Also a disguised relaunch in education |
| ЯКласс, Skysmart, Яндекс Учебник | Mostly web | — | No matching app found in our RU iOS library | Also a school homework platform; no iOS client or not charted |
| Duolingo, Quizlet, and other vocab apps | iOS | 2012 | 630k / 79k ratings | "Vocab" is just the disguise's description. Its real competitors aren't these. |
3. Growth tactics (where users come from)
- Old-user migration (confirmed): existing Uchi.ru student and parent accounts log straight in (the official post says "用 Учи.ру 的账号密码登录" / use your Uchi.ru login and password). Many reviews complain of failed logins ("пароль используемый на сайте не подходит"), which confirms the people arriving already had old accounts.
- Schools and teachers direct it (confirmed): Uchi.ru was already the platform teachers assign homework through. Reviews include "Это нам был совет учителя", "Обязательное приложение в гимназии", "Рекомендовано школой", and a VK comment says "сегодня учитель сказала скачать детям" (2026-10-24). Another negative review says teachers were also signed up to push paid subscriptions ("еще учителей на выбивание денег подписали").
- Forced redirect from the web version (confirmed, from user reports): 2026-10-06 review: "Через веб версию больше не дает зайти, принудительно выходит окно через это приложение". VK parents also report "мобильная версия отправляет скачать приложение". The mobile web version now shows a pop-up that pushes users to install the new shell.
- In-app "3× eggs" incentive (confirmed, from user reports): 2026-10-22's negative review says "Писали в рекламе, что дают в 3 раза больше яиц в этом приложении", and a positive review says "Оно даёт больше яиц". Uchi.ru uses its own in-game currency to reward students for switching to the app.
- Official VK community sends direct links (confirmed): searching "Учи.ру" in the App Store doesn't surface the new shell (one user replies "не нашла"), so the official account posts the direct link in comments. Organic store search barely works here. The name was deliberately chosen to be hard to find.
- Monthly class tournament (guessing): the store description pitches "compete with classmates", same idea as Uchi.ru's class leaderboards and marathons. Peer pressure between classmates drives organic sharing (a review reads "ОДНОКЛАССНИКИ ПИШУТ ТЕБЕ ПО 99+ СООБЩЕНИЙ").
- No paid acquisition, TikTok or X discussion found: x-radar shows 0 posts for "Учи.ру" over the last 60 days; a TikTok search for "учи ру айфон" turns up nothing relevant. Either there's no external spend, or it's very small (unverified).
4. Why it took off
- A platform event created the demand gap: 2026-06-25 Apple pulled Uchi.ru, so when September school started, new students and people switching phones had nothing to install on iOS, and the new shell caught that pent-up demand the moment it launched.
- It had existing assets: a 4.2B ruble annual revenue platform with 12M Android installs. Accounts, content and the payment system were moved over as-is, so paid conversion was there from day one (reviews mention 6000 rubles/year plans, a "popular" plan, and diamonds).
- Distribution ran on compulsion: teachers assigning homework, schools requiring it, web-version pop-ups, and in-app currency rewards. Those four forces pushed users in together, without relying on store search or ads.
- Rankings came from a low bar: in Russia's education free chart, the top spots only need a hundred or so new ratings a week to chart. This shell reached #2 with just 415 ratings.
5. Differentiation
As a product, it's no different from the Uchi.ru web and Android versions. Its only real "difference" is that it can be installed in the Russian iOS store. Another comparable rival (Foxford) is also a shell. Compared with Gosuslugi Moya Shkola and various e-diaries, it's an adaptive, gamified subject-practice and paid-course product, not an admin tool. Compared with vocabulary apps like Duolingo, it's tied to school classes and teacher homework. It took off because of "an existing platform plus a shell comeback after removal", not because of the "vocab + monthly tournament" the description implies.
6. Visibility and copycats
- Visibility: parent company Uchi.ru's revenue comes from public financial reports, and the brand is well known across Russia. But "Учимся словам is Uchi.ru" only circulated in the official VK comment section and among parents and teachers. No media coverage found. It's also not on the appleinsider.ru list of shells from July (it launched in September).
- Copycats: the product itself hasn't been copied. "Pull a platform, relaunch it as a shell under a new developer name" is common across Russian banking, video and education apps (Foxford, T-Uchebnik, Rutube, VTB, etc.).
7. What others can borrow
- It only works for platforms that already have a large user base: after a store removal, relaunch under a shell, then force users back into the app from three directions (web, homework system, in-app currency), and send direct links one-on-one through official community channels.
- The K12 gamification system of "class leaderboards + monthly tournaments + virtual currency (eggs, diamonds)", with teachers as a distribution channel, is the core of Uchi.ru's own growth. It's worth borrowing, but only after you've secured school channels.
- For indie developers without an existing user base, there's no copyable "small product opportunity" here. What the data card surfaced is a return of users through a shell after a platform event, not new demand.
8. Still unclear
- Whether Apple will pull this shell again (shells are commonly cleaned up, so its lifespan is uncertain).
- Actual iOS downloads and revenue: ratings are tiny, several orders of magnitude below the Android scale, and how many users remain on the old version is unclear.
- The registration location and real controllers of "New river house limited" are unverified. The original wording of the "3x eggs" in-app ad wasn't seen, only user reviews quoting it.
- The direct reason for the removal (whether it's related to VK's stake) is inference. Apple hasn't stated it.
Sources
- Uchi.ru's official VK removal notice and comments (including the link 9-28 provided officially): vk.ru/wall-61888001_94782
- iTunes lookup id6803843641 country=ru (2026-11-06); App Store RU reviews RSS
- appstore library: app_profile, app_day (2026-10-28 to 11-06); googleplay library: com.uchi.app
- Teacher-app removal notice: mobile-teacher.uchi.ru/
- VK-owned apps removed: meduza.io/en/news/2026/06/25/apple-removes-russian-social-ne…; www.reuters.com/world/europe/kremlin-demands-explanation-app…
- Mail.ru Group takes stake in Uchi.ru: www.comnews.ru/content/212061/2020-12-08/2020-w50/mailru-gro…
- Uchi.ru 2025 annual revenue 4.2B rubles: www.audit-it.ru/contragent/1127747152940_ooo-uchi-ru, companies.rbc.ru/id/1127747152940-ooo-uchiru/
- Russian app reskin list: appleinsider.ru/obzory-prilozhenij/uspej-skachat-eti-prilozh…