Apple sends 'App Store Improvement Notice' to developers, will remove outdated apps

The Cupertino based tech giant Apple is going to remove old applications from the platform. Apparently, the company has sent an email to the developers of the affected applications, screenshots of which have surfaced on social platforms, including Twitter. Essentially, the mail contains a notice to developers that asks them to submit an update for review, failing which the application will be removed from the Apple Store. 

Apple sends App Store Improvement Notice

The Verge cites a tweet from Potopop Games that contains the "App Store Improvement Notice." The mail is addressed to the developer of a game and says that "this app has not been updated in a significant amount of time and is scheduled to be removed from sale in 30 days." Adding to it, the mail reads "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." 

The mail also says that developers do not need to take any action for the application to remain available to existing users, who have already downloaded the app. Another Twitter user @nickjsheriff highlights that applications that developers who have not updated their applications for the past three years or more are getting the notice. The same users also mention that over 70% of the applications on the Apple Play Store have not been updated in the last three to five years, which is a long time. 

Apple's official App Store Improvement says that "we want to ensure that apps available on the App Store are functional and up-to-date." In addition, the support page reads "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of evaluating apps, removing apps that no longer function as intended, don't follow current review guidelines or are outdated." However, contrary to this, the developer of FlickType Apple Watch keyboard, Kosta Eleftheriou says that a version of his app, that has not received an update in the last two years was taken down. However, the developer also points out that Pocket God, an app that has not received any updates since 2015 is still available on the App Store. 

App Store removing outdated apps has two perspectives. The first one justifies the move by Apple as millions of users and customers are browsing through the Apple App Store for getting the application they require and they deserve the best and the latest solutions. On the other hand, there are several developers who have taken to social platforms to express their disappointment saying that they haven't got enough time to run a live application model.