Apple Plans To “Clean up” App Store, Changes App Naming Guidelines

Hagar Bechar

In an email sent to developers yesterday (Sept. 1st) Apple announced its intention to remove old and broken apps from the app store, as well as shorten the length of the app name field from 255 characters to 50.

Rotten Apples in The Store

According to Apple’s developer support, as of September 7th, the company will be implementing “an ongoing process of evaluating apps, removing apps that no longer function as intended, don’t follow current review guidelines, or are outdated.”

The apps to be affected by this process are mostly apps that were published in accordance to old guidelines, outdated apps and broken apps that do not function as expected. Apps that crash on launch will be removed from the app store immediately, while app with other issues will have 30 days to fix it prior to being removed from the app store.

Apple advised app publishers to stay updated on app guidelines to ensure their apps comply, and also suggested that developers remove apps that are no longer being updated or maintained from the app store.

Keep It Short

The second topic discussed in Apple’s email to app developers is the reduction in characters in the app name field from 255 to 50. The goal of this change is to combat “keyword stuffing” in the app name field with irrelevant but popular search terms. According to Apple, “some developers have used extremely long app names which include descriptions and terms not directly related to their app”.

Apple has not indicated if it will be reviewing existing applications (and shortening their names) or applying this new standard to newly published apps and app updates.

Hagar Bechar