Apple explains App Store criteria for removing outdated apps, giving 90-day response time

Apple’s recently reported announcement of scraping apps from the App Store that are no longer updated by their developers has started a new controversy in the tech space. Now, in a latest update, the Cupertino giant has shared the criteria for how it chooses to get rid of abandoned apps. The iPhone maker has clarified that only outdated apps will be removed from the App Store. Furthermore, the company is offering a 90-day response time for developers to update their apps and avoid deletion, instead of the 30 days available previously.

Through a developer-facing statement on Friday, Apple announced that it will start removing the app from App Store has not received an update in the last three years and does not meet the minimum download threshold. The iPhone maker is sending out emails to developers informing them about the possible removal of their apps. Developers will have 90 days to update their apps and avoid this action. Previously, the company allowed a 30-day timeframe to comply with this. Deleted apps will continue to function normally for users who have downloaded the apps on their devices, Apple notes.

Apple says that the App Store Improvement process is not new, and it started back in 2016. The company said it removed about 2.8 million apps as part of the move. According to the company, getting rid of outdated apps will increase the visibility of existing apps and increase user security and privacy as they are integrated with the latest technologies and tools. .

News of the removal of apps that no longer work as intended surfaced last week and some developers have expressed their concerns about change. The application list mainly consists of games that have not been updated in many years. Apple’s new move takes place a few weeks later Google says that it will limit the detection and installation of apps that “don’t target the API level to within two years of the latest major Android release,” starting November 1, 2022.