A Major Cleanup Begins in the App Store — Apple Is Changing the Rules for Thousands of Apps

Apple has updated its App Store review guidelines, and the biggest change affects the rule against spam and cookie-cutter software. Previously, the company mainly rejected new submissions that offered nothing original — now, even already-published apps are in the crosshairs and can be removed if they haven’t been updated in a long time, haven’t evolved, or simply aren’t drawing in users.

The document explicitly lists categories Apple considers overcrowded: dating apps, virtual flashlights, wallpaper collections, basic timers, sound effects, and all sorts of fortune-telling apps. New projects in these niches will only be approved on one condition: the developer must prove their product delivers a fundamentally different or significantly improved user experience. For existing apps, there’s only one way out — keep updating regularly. If an app goes months without an update and rarely gets downloaded, Apple reserves the right to purge it from the store. Apple recently held a presentation for its new iOS 27 operating system.

The wording is even harsher for outright “junk” software. The App Review Guidelines now include direct descriptions: games with alcohol themes, Kama Sutra reference guides, and rude sound simulators are called “mediocre, low-quality, and made with minimal effort” — and in the moderators’ view, such content offers no value to the platform.

At the same time, Apple has updated its requirements for user-generated content, clearly stating that an app’s creator is responsible for promptly removing material that violates the guidelines. If a developer doesn’t have a clear moderation plan and can’t quickly fix violations, their product will be blocked until they can prove they’re capable of following the rules. In the event of severe or repeated incidents, the app will be immediately removed and the developer will be booted from the Developer Program. The third change concerns interactive lock screen notifications, which now cannot be used for spam, phishing links, or any kind of unwanted messages.

In effect, Apple is continuing its push to clean up its digital storefront — a push that began in the early 2020s, when thousands of abandoned apps disappeared from the store. For honest developers, this could mean better visibility: fewer clones and less junk in search results, and a better chance of being discovered by real users. On the flip side, owners of niche projects risk losing even a functional app if it doesn’t generate steady downloads.

Do you expect this cleanup to make the App Store more convenient, or are you worried that useful but rarely updated apps will get the axe? Share your thoughts in the comments.