In a registered email sent to affected developers, titled “App Improvement Notice,” Apple warns that it will remove apps from the App Store that haven’t been “updated in an extended period of time.” It gives developers only 30 days to update it, according to The Verege.
“You can make this app available for new users to discover and download from the App Store by submitting an update for review within 30 days,” Apple said in the email. “If no update is provided within 30 days, the app will be removed from sale.” While Apple will remove old apps from the App Store, any previously downloaded apps will remain on users’ devices.
A number of app makers, such as Protopop game developer Robert Capoe, have expressed concerns about the change. Capwe says on Twitter that Apple is threatening to remove his fully functional game, Motifoto, because it hasn’t been updated since March 2019.
Meanwhile, Kosta Eleftheriou, developer of the FlickType keyboard for the Apple Watch, says Apple has removed a version of its app designed specifically for the visually impaired because it hasn’t been updated in two years.
As Elefthrio pointed out in his tweet, the once popular Pocket God app is still on the App Store even though it received its last update in 2015.
Developer Emilia Lazer-Walker also mentioned that Apple is removing “a few” of them old games from the App Store, many other developers are sharing the same experience, noting that they haven’t had time to update their apps.