Apple will remove hundreds of apps from the App Store for no apparent reason. This has nothing to do with sanctions
Under pressure from the authorities of different countries, Apple will not give up nor allow you to install apps from other stores. On the one hand it’s bad: even after Russia’s App Store delists banking apps, the company obviously won’t face a wave of hatred from our fellow citizens, on the other hand, we’re still thankful that the App Store has smartphones with the most secure operating systems. Double situation, do you agree? Apple also removed apps from the App Store…just like that. This approach is said to help make app storage better. Let’s see why developers and users are outraged, and why Apple is breaking something that already works so well.
App Store Rules
Apple is proud of the App Store: the apps available there are thoroughly tested, making it nearly impossible for scammers to get there in search of profit. The app store is very demanding: the company doesn’t tolerate fake reviews, ratings, the use of other people’s names, or even the illegal use of geographic locations. If violations are found, the company gives time to fix the bug. Overall, he takes the App Store very seriously.
Of course, in some cases, moderators may ignore malicious apps and show up in the App Store, but Apple finds them quickly and regularly notifies users of their achievements. For example, in 2020, the App Store blocked more than $1.5 billion worth of suspicious transactions. During the same period, about a million apps and updates were banned or removed.
Where apps from the App Store end up
But the new policy doesn’t target malware. For example, obsolete apps that haven’t been updated may disappear from the App Store: developers have started getting emails dealing with apps that haven’t been updated for a “long time”. How long we talked is a mystery, there are no exact figures.
The problem is that Apple has only given 30 days to fix the bug: if there is no response, the company will simply remove the program from the store. The downloaded version remains on the user’s smartphone and tablet as usual, but cannot be installed on the iPhone when switching to a new smartphone or uninstalling the app.
Affected developers have expressed understandable rejection of the App Store policy. Protopop Games author Robert Kabwe has already lamented the threat of removal of his game Motivoto: Apple doesn’t like the fact that the app hasn’t been updated since March 2019, although according to the developers it’s not working on new devices Works well on the latest version of iOS.
Update apps in the App Store
Clearly, Apple’s view of the situation is one-sided: While app updates are normal, the company may impose its own rules on developers. A lot of games work fine and the update curve can ruin everything. Users themselves do not want to update their frequently used programs.
By the way, a number of developers also confirmed that they heard from Apple, but pointed out that the apps were created as final products and that they were not going to update them because they didn’t have enough time. All of this is replete with the fact that the App Store is going to lose the hundreds (or thousands) of freeware utilities that people are used to. Cleaning the App Store, however, is commonplace, if not quite as aggressive before: Apple calls it an ongoing process, noting that the main goal is to purge the App Store of programs that aren’t functioning properly or that aren’t up-to-date. By the way, that was the last time in 2016 – the company also gave developers 30 days to update outdated apps.
There is no definitive answer as to whether Apple has always used this rule or has only recently begun to widely use it. There is also no clear definition of what is considered a “legacy” application. Whether it’s because of the time since the last update was released or because of compatibility with iOS is not entirely clear. On the other hand, this also has an advantage: In fact, Apple acts as a kind of “wood nurse”, rescuing users from weird “beer simulators” and apps that were last updated when Touch ID first appeared.
One thing’s for sure: small developers will face additional headaches. Even the simplest applications need improvement from time to time.
