Apple says it will remove apps that haven't been updated in three years and have few downloads from the App Store, extends the time to update from 30 to 90 days
MacRumorsEric Slivka
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had first framed the cleanup as a 30-day response to apps deemed insufficiently maintained, as covered in its initial App Store removal warning. The 90-day extension softens that immediate deadline while keeping the three-year inactivity and low-download thresholds in place.
The policy also foreshadows a broader App Store curation posture: later review-guideline coverage says Apple may remove apps in saturated categories that are not updated, improved, or attracting customers. That later guideline change makes maintenance and demand continuing conditions for distribution, not merely one-off cleanup criteria.
First-order effects
Developers of low-download apps untouched for three years gain 90 days, rather than 30, to submit an update or risk losing App Store availability.
Apple can reduce the catalog of dormant, lightly used apps while giving affected developers a longer compliance window.
Second-order effects
Small developers must weigh the cost of maintaining older apps against the value of retaining their App Store listing, particularly where downloads are already low.
Users of removed legacy apps face a smaller set of available titles, while actively maintained apps receive a cleaner competitive catalog.
Third-order effects
App Store distribution is moving toward an ongoing-performance model in which update cadence, product improvement, and customer demand jointly influence whether an app remains listed.
As Apple applies similar standards to saturated categories, platform curation can increasingly determine which long-tail software remains discoverable.
The trend: Apple is tightening App Store quality control by treating continued maintenance and user demand as requirements for ongoing distribution.
This doesn't really make sense. If your app is getting extremely low downloads, why would Apple want you to update it? What difference does that make? What if you update it and downloads are still extremely low? https://twitter.com/...
“Devs took to social media to speak up against Apple's policy saying the changes were unfair to indie devs. In response, Apple issued a press release & increased the time needed to update old apps from 30dys to 90dys as a show of good faith to devs” Good! https://appleinsider.com…
When I worked at Apple, I had no idea what a f'n bully Apple is to app developers I didn't work directly on the App Store, but I was in very x-functional engineering We spoke endlessly about “customers,” but barely a word about devs This is shameful. Give developers an opt-out ht…
Questions 1) What does downloaded “extremely few times” mean exactly? 2) Is it true that only 3 year old apps with extremely low downloads are affected? 3) Why does Apple want updates for apps with extremely low downloads? How does that help the store? https://developer.apple.com…
Who cares but Apple's Beats Pill app and Movie Trailers app both haven't been updated in 3+ years. A few more apps closing in on 3 years. I'm sure Apple can get an exemption from Apple though. https://twitter.com/...
After developer complaints, Apple is extending the time developers have to update their app from 30 days to 90 days to keep them on the App Store. This is in reference to Apple telling developers they'd remove apps that haven't been updated in 3 years. https://developer.apple.com…
“Over the course of the past six years, we have removed almost 2.8 million apps as part of this process” “...apps that have not been updated within the last three years and fail to meet a minimal download threshold [over rolling 12 months] [will be notified of potential removal]”…