To clarify, this is a bug: Any iCloud offloaded apps installed on the phone are counted as developer installed apps until reinstalled or deleted. You can confirm this in the console when looking at the MIFreeProfileValidatedAppTracker error message. Once these have been either reinstalled or deleted, then the list of offending apps will disappear.

So here is the solution: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251383929 Apps, provisioned via the App Store, will apparently, steal your Free Developer provisioning limit.

Here’s the (convoluted, ridiculous) way to work out the problem: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251383929 And the output of my MIFreeProfileValidatedAppTracker console log. Apparently all these jammy buggers have been stealing me free developer certificates! With their apps, provisioned via… the App Store. 		“_.com.triodos.bankinguk”, 		“com.apple.DocumentsApp”, 		“com.apple.VoiceMemos”, 		“_.at.willhaben.mobileapp”, 		“_.com.newmarketinglab.ExifMetadata”, 		“_.com.dropbox.paper”, 		“_.com.brain-scape.sa.c198”, 		“_.co.polarr.pve”, 		“_.com.buycott”, 		“_.im.rdev.now-mobile”, 		“_.com.google.hangouts”, 		“_.com.numerical.kb1”, 		“_.com.itipton.germanverbconjugatorfree”, 		“_.com.zhengping.TsumeG”, 		“_.com.skype.skype”, 		“_.com.liaoyuan.huo.FKCamera”, 		“_.com.google.calendar”, 		“_.com.google.Sheets”, 		“_.com.apple.news”, 		“_.com.putio.tvOS”, 		“_.org.op<…>

Yeah, looks like everybody has this problem. Are we deemed sufficiently locked into the ecosystem that the occasional spit in the eye is worth it? Economically speaking of course. Asking for a friend.

And yet, after clearing out all of those settings, offloaded apps and provisioned certs the error message persists. 99$ “protection money” to, ya know, actually use your ~1000EU devices.

This is uniquely frustrating. I am an open source / learning developer - and very far off needing a special paid account for pushing to the App Store. Coronavirus is happening, people are learning, trying new things. I've now spent most of a day clearing out provisioning certs, "installed applications" and profiles from XCode. Finally, deleting iCloud backups. But to no avail, still: "maximum number of apps for free development profiles has been reached". I cannot fathom why. It is at best over-zealous "conversion", and at worst pure greed. The end result being stifling creativity, experimentation and learning.