Apple To Remove Abandoned Apps From The App Store (techcrunch.com)

Apple has issued an email to its community of developers indicating that it will remove apps that are outdated or no longer work. "We are implementing an ongoing process of evaluating apps, removing apps that no longer function as intended, don't follow current review guidelines, or are outdated," Apple wrote. TechCrunch reports: In addition to search ads and extensions in many different apps in iOS 10, Apple plans to remove all these useless apps that clutter the App Store search pages. And Apple is not going to stop at abandoned apps. The company will also fight spammy app names. For instance, if you search for "Instagram" on the App Store, one of the first results is an app that is called "[app name] Photo Collage, Picture Editor, Pic Grid, F... and then it gets cut off. With this SEO strategy, app developers can trick App Store searches. If you search for "pic collage," chances are you're going to find this app. Apple wants clean names to make App Store searches relevant again. From now on, app names have to be shorter than 50 characters. Apple will start reviewing old apps on September 7. Apps that crash on launch will be removed immediately. Other apps will get a notice from Apple first. And if you don't update over the next 30 days, your app will be removed -- you'll be able to submit your app again though. You can view Apple's FAQ if you have any unanswered questions.

Comments

Re:Update frenzy

[unixisc]

Why? If a software has a simple functionality that just works the way it was designed, why should it have to keep getting updated? And if an upgrade to the OS has broken compatibility, how is it the fault of the software in question? Yeah, it shouldn't be listed in the app store for the version where it doesn't work, but why should it be removed from the store altogether?

Re:Update frenzy

[spire3661]

"Software should be continuously updated, no matter what, else it doesn't deserve to live any more. This is a step in that direction, Apple is doing the right thing here."

I believe in the exact opposite. Software should be built like a hammer. If i drop a hammer on the ground, any other human can come along and use it, no matter how much time has passed. A thousand year old hammer is still useful today. Sure a drop-forged, mass produced tool MIGHT be better, but not necessarily so.

Wither Slashdot

[Etcetera]

Look at all the sheep here, meekly accepting this as if OSS didn't exist.

You want to do something worthwhile? Demand that Apple demand of the App developers that if they stop updating their apps (in accordance to whatever the trendy Silicon Valley app-update timeframe is) Apple releases the source code for it that it will have required to be in escrow.

Presto... there you go. No more abandonware; OSS for custom user tweaking; healthier world; user/developer rights. RMS would be proud.