Apple may crack down on apps that no longer receive updates. in email a screenshot Sent to affected developers, titled “App Improvement Notice,” Apple warned that it will remove apps from the App Store that “have not been updated in a critical time” and that developers will only be asked to update them. Gives 30 days time.
“You can keep this app available for new users to find and download from the App Store by submitting an update review In 30 days,” Apple writes in the email. “If an update is not submitted within 30 days, the app will be removed from sale.” While Apple will remove older apps from the App Store, any previously downloaded apps will remain on users’ devices.
I am feeling sick. Apple just sent me an email saying they are removing my free game Motivoto because it is over 2 years old.
This is part of their app improvement system.
This is not good. Console games from 2000 are still available for sale.
It’s an unfair detriment for indie devs. pic.twitter.com/7XNcLfiEcR
— protopop games (@protopop) 23 April 2022
Several app makers, such as ProtoPop Games developer Robert Kabwe, have expressed their concerns about the change. cubbies says on twitter That Apple is threatening to remove its fully functioning game, Motivoto, because it hasn’t been updated since March 2019.
Meanwhile, Costa Eleftherio, developer of the FlickType Apple Watch keyboard, apple says Took down a version of its app made specifically for the visually impaired because it hasn’t been updated in two years. As Eleftherio explains in his tweet, the ever-super-popular pocket God The app still remains on the App Store, even though it received its last update in 2015. Developer Emilia Ledger-Walker also reported That Apple is removing “some” of its older games from the App Store. Several Other Developers Share the same experience, seeing that they don’t have time to update their apps.
,@Apple Deleting some of my older games b/c that haven’t been updated in a significant amount of time
Games can exist in the form of complete objects! These are not suitable for free project updates or live service models, they are artifacts from years ago. pic.twitter.com/iflH70j7q4
— Emilia (@lazerwalker) 23 April 2022
On Apple’s App Store improvements page, the company states: “We are implementing an ongoing process of evaluating apps, removing apps that no longer work as intended, do not comply with current review Guidelines, or are out of date.” There’s no time stamp on the page, so it’s not immediately clear when Apple published or last updated the post. Apple didn’t immediately respond ledgeComment request.
In 2016, Apple said it would begin removing abandoned apps from the App Store. At the time, it also warned developers that they would have 30 days to update their apps before they were taken down. That said, it’s not clear whether Apple has been enforcing this rule consistently over the years, or if it only recently began making a wider sweep. Apple also doesn’t explicitly outline what it considers “outdated” — whether it’s based on the time that has elapsed since an app was last updated, or if it’s on the most recent version of iOS. Concerns about compatibility with.
critics say This policy argues that mobile apps should remain available regardless of age, just as older video games remain playable on consoles. others say The policy on developers is unnecessarily strict, and claim Apple doesn’t fully respect the work that goes into indie games.
Earlier this month, the Google Play Store similarly announced that it would begin limiting the visibility of apps that “do not target API levels within two years of the latest major Android release version.” Android developers have until November 1, 2022 to update their apps, but they also have the option of applying for a six-month extension if they can’t make it to the deadline. With both major app stores cracking down on older apps, it may struggle to keep up with some developers, especially indie studios.
