Apple to Remove Underperforming Apps from App Store
▼ Summary
– Apple’s updated App Review Guidelines state it may remove apps in well-established categories if they are not updated, improved, or attracting customers.
– The new guidelines warn against “opportunistically creating variants of existing app categories or popular apps,” adding wallpaper apps, simple timers, and sound effects to the list.
– Apple previously rejected copycat or saturated-category apps, but now explicitly threatens removal of low-quality apps like fart, burp, and dating apps.
– Apple introduced personalized app recommendations and merchandising tools at WWDC to improve app discovery and reduce clutter.
– Developers who repeatedly submit low-quality apps may lose access to the Apple Developer Program entirely.
Apple has issued a clear message to developers: the days of letting low-effort apps linger on the App Store are numbered. In its latest App Review Guidelines, released this week alongside the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the company announced it may start removing apps that fail to meet certain standards. Specifically, apps in well-established categories that are not updated, improved, or attracting customers could be deleted. This marks a shift from previous language, which only warned against submitting copycat apps or those in already crowded categories.
The old guidelines took a more humorous approach, cautioning developers not to flood the store with redundant offerings. “The 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,” the earlier text read. That line has now been updated to a more direct warning: developers should avoid “opportunistically creating variants of existing app categories or popular apps.” The list of flagged categories has also expanded to include wallpaper apps, simple timers, and sound effects, alongside the original suspects.
The new guidelines are blunt: “We may remove these apps from the App Store going forward if they are not updated, improved, or do not attract customers.” Apple explained that these categories are already “well established on the App Store,” meaning new submissions will only be accepted if they offer a “meaningfully different or improved” experience.
This crackdown is part of a broader push to improve app discovery. At WWDC, Apple introduced features like personalized app recommendations and new merchandising tools to help developers grow their businesses and re-engage existing users. By removing low-quality apps, the company aims to reduce clutter, making it easier for developers who invest real effort to get their apps noticed.
Apple didn’t mince words about certain types of apps, calling out drinking games, Kama Sutra, fart, and burp apps as “low-quality,” “mediocre,” and “low-effort.” The company warned that developers who repeatedly submit such apps could lose access to the Apple Developer Program entirely.
According to Apple, the existing App Store Improvements process already gives developers a heads-up when their apps are outdated or not being downloaded, allowing them time to make improvements before facing removal. In essence, the updated guidelines simply make it clear that apps falling under the “fart app rule” are now at risk of being purged, and developers have been given fair warning.
(Source: TechCrunch)
