Apple Store Gets Backlash For Removing Apps Over Two Years Old

Apple Store Gets Backlash For Removing Apps Over Two Years Old

Apple has been under heavy scrutiny as it seems to be going after applications on its online store that have not received updates in quite a while, taking them down from its online store.

Creators and app developers took to social media with screenshots of notices that the company had sent directly to their email accounts, by which it warned them that they had 30 days to provide an update otherwise they would be taken down.

“This app has not been updated in a significant amount of time and is scheduled to be removed from sale in 30 days,” says the email titled App Store Improvement Notice. “No action is required for the app to remain available to users who have already downloaded the app.

“You can keep this app available for new users to discover and download from the App Store by submitting an update for review within 30 days. If no update is submitted within 30 days, the app will be removed from sale.”

This bit of information was not received well by several app creators who were quick to express their feelings on social media. A good example was Protopop games developer Robert Kabwe who shared his disbelief at this change in policy by stating that “…games from 2000 are still available for sale. This is an unfair barrier for indie devs.”

Kostas Eleftheriou, who developed and published the FlickType Keyboard app for the visually impaired, added that his creation was also removed from the Apple Store because he had not updated it in over two years, adding that there are games still on the platform such as Pocket God which have not received any updates for close to seven years.

This new change in policy is part of Apple’s strategy to improve its App Store, which was announced in 2016, with the US tech company pointing out: “We are implementing an ongoing process of evaluating apps, removing apps that no longer function as intended, don’t follow current review guidelines, or are outdated.”

Google have already stated that they will be following a similar approach to their Google Play Store with applications that “don’t target an API level within two years of the latest major Android release version.”




Please login with linkedin to comment

App store Apple

Latest News

Cosmo Returns To Australia!
  • Media

Cosmo Returns To Australia!

Ever get the feeling we've weirdly warped back to 1988 at the moment? Confirm it with the relaunch of Cosmo in print.

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
  • Media

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm

Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
  • Advertising

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA  Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]