Apple Updates App Store Guidelines With Stricter Rules for Low-Quality Apps

Key Points:

• Apple updated its App Store Review Guidelines to enforce stricter rules against low-quality and spammy apps, particularly targeting oversaturated categories like dating, flashlight, and fortune telling apps.
• New language in guideline 4.3(b) states that apps indistinguishable from existing ones or that do not offer meaningful improvements may be removed if they fail to attract users or receive updates, with repeated low-effort submissions risking removal from the Apple Developer Program.
• Apps deemed mediocre or low-value, such as fart, burp, Kama Sutra, and drinking game apps, are explicitly discouraged, and repeated submissions of these types could lead to developer program removal.
• Apple clarified its responsibility requirements for apps with user-generated content, emphasizing that developers must remove guideline-violating content promptly or risk app removal, with egregious or repeated violations leading to immediate expulsion from the App Store and Developer Program.
• A new rule (4.5.3) prohibits developers from using Live Activities to send spam, phishing attempts, or unsolicited messages to users, aiming to protect customers from unwanted communications.