Apple tightens App Review Guidelines against apps that ‘do not add value to the App Store’

Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines with new language targeting apps that it says “do not add value to the App Store.” Here are the details.

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During yesterday’s WWDC keynote, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned that “developers are building more apps than ever, with well over 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-assisted development tools have helped more people turn ideas into apps, they have also made it easier to mass-produce low-effort software.

In light of that, last November, Apple updated its App Review Guidelines with multiple new rules, including one that cracked down against “copycat apps”.

Then, just a few months ago, The Information reported that the App Store had seen an 84% surge in new apps, a spike that appeared to put additional strain on Apple’s App Review team. Apple disputed the latter:

An Apple spokesperson denied that review times are getting longer. Apple said the app review team processes 90% of submissions within 48 hours. And over the last 12 weeks, the team has processed more than 200,000 app submissions a week, with an average review time of 1.5 days. The spokesperson also said that while a human has to review every app submission, the company is increasingly using AI tools to assist in the process.

That said, Apple recently updated (via MacRumors) section 4.3(b) of the App Review Guidelines, with even stricter rules to curb submissions of “mediocre, low-quality, or low-effort” apps. The updated rule states:

Don’t submit apps that are indistinguishable from what’s already widely available. Opportunistically creating variants of existing app categories or popular apps degrades App Store discovery, reduces overall app quality, and harms both users and developers. Certain kinds of apps, such as dating, flashlight, sound effects, wallpaper, simple timers, and fortune telling, are well established on the App Store and we will not accept new submissions unless they offer a meaningfully different or improved experience. We may remove these apps from the App Store going forward if they are not updated, improved, or do not attract customers. Other kinds of apps, such as drinking games, Kama Sutra, fart, and burp apps, are mediocre, low-quality, or low-effort and do not add value to the App Store. Repeated submissions of this kind may lead to removal from the Apple Developer Program.

The updated guidelines also added new language around apps with user-generated content (guideline 1.2) and on the use of Live Activities to send spam, phishing attempts, or unsolicited messages (guideline 4.5.3).

To read the updated App Store Review Guidelines, follow this link.