Apple said developers of apps that haven’t been updated in the past three years and fail to meet the minimum download threshold are receiving: “an email notifying them that their app has been marked for removal from the App Store, meaning the app was not downloaded at all.” Or very few times in a 12-month period.”
While Apple will remove old apps from the App Store, any previously downloaded apps will remain on users’ devices, and earlier this week, several app makers, such as Protopop game developer Robert Capoy, expressed concerns about the change.
Apple said developers can appeal app removals, and the company told “and developers, including those who have received a recent notice, will be given more time to update their apps if necessary – up to 90 days”.
The removed apps will continue to work as normal for users who have already downloaded the app to their devices, and Apple said: “User trust in high-quality apps is the foundation of everything we’ve done in building and operating the App Store.”
Over the past six years, Apple has removed nearly 2.8 million apps as part of this process.