Apple is warning developers that some of their apps may not be able to call the App Store home forever. In its newly renovated Application control instructions released this week, the tech giant said it may begin removing apps in certain established categories if they don’t “update, improve or attract customers.” This marks a major shift on Apple’s part, which previously used to simply reject copycat apps or those in saturated categories.
Previously, Apple’s guidelines warned developers against piling into categories that already had multiple apps. The line, somewhat hilariously, read: “The App Store already has enough farting, burping, flashlight, divination, dating, drinking games, and Kama Sutra apps, etc.. We’ll reject these apps unless they provide a unique high-quality experience.”
The updated text, released alongside Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), warns developers not to “opportunistically create variations of existing categories of apps or popular apps.” The list now includes wallpaper apps, simple timers and sound effects, in addition to dating apps, flashlight and fortune telling apps.
“We may remove these apps from the App Store going forward if they are not updated, improved, or fail to attract customers,” the guidelines state.
These apps, Apple explained, are “well-established in the App Store” and submissions will no longer be accepted unless they offer a “substantially different or improved” experience.
The change comes as Apple focuses on improving app discovery in 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 put in the effort to get their apps discovered.
In addition, Apple labeled apps such as drinking games, Kama Sutra, fart and burp apps as “low quality”, “mediocre” and “low effort”, warning that developers who repeatedly submit such apps may lose access to the Apple Developer Program altogether.
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