Apple recently sent notices to some indie developers, warning them that their app will be pulled from the App Store if it’s not updated within 30 days. The tech giant has had a policy in place against outdated and abandoned applications since 2016, but the move suggests that it’s now more rigorously enforcing that rule. Some of the letters’ recipients criticized the policy for being a barrier to indie developers, what with how tough it is to keep up with platform changes and how much work it takes to roll out even a minor update. Now, Apple has published a post clarifying why some old apps are in danger of being removed, along with the announcement that it’s giving developers more time to update their applications.
In the post, the company said that it will only send removal notices to developers whose apps haven’t been updated in three years, as well as to devs whose apps have not “been downloaded at all or extremely few times during a rolling 12 month period.” Apple said that dropping outdated apps makes newer ones more discoverable and also ensures users can enjoy games and tools that have been optimized for its latest OS and devices.
As a lot of people know, there are older apps don’t work as well on the latest generation of phones, tablets and laptops anymore, delivering a subpar user experience. Still, 30 days might not be nowhere near enough time for smaller developers to conjure up an update. The good news is that Apple has extended its grace period and is now giving them up to 90 days to update their applications. Users will get to keep apps that are already installed on their devices even if they end up getting deleted, and developers can continue earning from them through microtransactions.
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