Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines with new language-targeting apps it says “don’t add value to the App Store.” Here are the details.
Apple expands App Store anti-spam rules
During the yesterdays WWDC keynoteApple CEO Tim Cook noted that “developers are building more apps than ever before, with more than 1,000 submissions to the App Store every hour.”
Cook’s remarks were meant to highlight how vibrant the App Store remains, especially at a time when the barrier to entry for app development has never been lower.
The problem is that a low barrier to entry is a double-edged sword. While AI-powered development tools have helped more people turn ideas into applications, they’ve also made it easier to mass-produce low-effort software.
In this regard, last November Apple has updated its App Review Guidelines are a slew of new rules, including one that combats “copycat apps.”
Then, just a few months ago Information informed It turns out that the App Store has seen an 84% increase in new apps, which has put additional strain on Apple’s App Review team. Apple disputed the latter:
An Apple spokesperson denied that the review period had been extended. Apple said the app review team processes 90% of submissions within 48 hours. And over the past 12 weeks, the team has processed more than 200,000 app submissions per week, taking an average of 1.5 days to review. The spokesperson also said that while a human must review each application submission, the company is increasingly using AI tools to help with the process.
That said, Apple recently updated (via MacRumors) section 4.3(b) of the Application Review Guidelines, stricter rules to limit the submission of “grandfathered, low-quality, or low-effort” applications. The updated rule reads:
Don’t introduce applications that are indistinguishable from those that are already widely available. Creating opportunities for existing app categories or popular apps worsens App Store discovery, reduces overall app quality, and hurts both users and developers. Certain types of apps, such as dating, flashlight, sound effects, wallpaper, simple timers, and fortune telling, are well-established in the App Store, and we won’t accept new submissions unless they offer a significantly different or improved experience. If these apps are not updated, improved, or attract customers, we may remove them from the App Store. Other types of apps, such as drinking games, Kama Sutra, and fart and burp apps, are mediocre, low-quality, or low-effort apps and don’t add value to the App Store. Such repeated submissions may result in removal from the Apple Developer Program.
The updated guidelines also include new language regarding applications with user-generated content (guideline 1.2) and the use of Live Actions to send spam, phishing attempts, or unsolicited messages (guideline 4.5.3).
To read the updated App Store Review Guidelines, follow this link.
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