Apple says it may remove some apps from the App Store if they donât attract users
Apple is warning developers that some of their apps may not be able to call the App Store home forever. In its newly refreshed App
Apple is warning developers that some of their apps may not be able to call the App Store home forever. In its newly refreshed App Review Guidelines released this week, the tech giant said it may begin removing apps in certain well-established categories if theyâre not âupdated, improved, or attracting customers.â This marks a significant shift on Appleâs part, which earlier used to simply reject copycat apps or those in saturated categories. Previously, Appleâs guidelines had cautioned developers not to pile on in categories that already had plenty of apps.
The line, somewhat hilariously, had read: âThe App Store has enough fart, burp, flashlight, fortune telling, dating, drinking games, and Kama Sutra apps, etc. already. We will reject these apps unless they provide a unique, high-quality experience.â The updated text, released alongside Appleâs Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), warns developers against âopportunistically creating variants of existing app categories or popular apps.â The list now includes wallpaper apps, simple timers, and sound effects, in addition to dating apps, flashlight, and fortune-telling apps.
âWe may remove these apps from the App Store going forward if they are not updated, improved, or do not attract customers,â the guidelines state. These apps, Apple explained, are âwell established on the App Store,â and submissions will no longer be accepted unless they offer a âmeaningfully different or improvedâ experience. The change comes as Apple focuses on improving app discovery across its App Store. At WWDC, the company introduced personalized app recommendations and merchandising tools to help developers grow their businesses and re-engage existing users.
Removing low-quality apps could help the App Store reduce clutter, making it easier for developers who are putting in the effort to have their apps discovered. In addition, Apple called out apps like drinking games, Kama Sutra, fart and burp apps as âlow-quality,â âmediocre,â and âlow-effort,â warning that developers who repeatedly submit such apps may lose access to the Apple Developer Program entirely.
