As part of its latest policy update, Apple has warned developers that their apps will be removed from the App Store if they haven’t received updates for the past three years. In addition, applications that do not have a minimum of downloads during the last year could also be removed from the official repository of the company.
For the company, these new measures will improve the experience of users, as they consider that the updated software is more compatible with the latest updates on iOS, iPadOS and macOS systems. Over the past five years, Apple has removed about 2.8 million apps from its official store by applying other similar measures.
Apple will not remove these applications without prior notice, as it has already been confirmed that developers will have a period of 90 days to update their code and deliver a complete report on the modifications. The company firmly believes that consumers will appreciate the release of updates, as there are tons of popular apps that didn’t work properly on the latest models of Apple devices.
Other criteria for removing apps available on the App Store include apps that don’t work as expected, are outdated, or that their developers haven’t adhered to Apple’s review guidelines.
These new policies come at a time when Apple is facing controversy over alleged monopolistic practices in selling software for iOS devices. In this regard, the company considers that this is a legitimate and justified practice, since allowing third-party application stores could compromise the security and business model of the App Store.
This practice suggests that the App Store has a dead weight that Apple considers onerous and little beneficial for users for security reasons. Still, apps written for macOS could continue as direct downloads without going through Apple’s security scanners, an obvious security risk.
To learn more about information security risks, malware variants, vulnerabilities and information technologies, feel free to access the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) websites.
He is a cyber security and malware researcher. He studied Computer Science and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2006. He is actively working as an cyber security investigator. He also worked for different security companies. His everyday job includes researching about new cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in enterprise security implementation.