Apple Warns Low-Engagement Apps Could Face Removal from the App Store

Apple is signalling that some apps may not have a permanent place on the App Store. In its updated App Review Guidelines released alongside WWDC 2026, the company said it may remove apps in certain well-established categories if they are not regularly updated, improved, or attracting users.

Previously, Apple’s guidelines mainly focused on rejecting copycat apps or new submissions in oversaturated categories. One well-known section humorously noted that the App Store already had enough fart, burp, flashlight, fortune-telling, dating, drinking game, and Kama Sutra apps unless they offered a unique, high-quality experience.

The updated guidelines take a firmer approach. Apple now warns developers against creating opportunistic variations of existing popular app categories. The list includes wallpaper apps, simple timer apps, sound-effect apps, dating apps, flashlight apps, and fortune-telling apps.

According to Apple, these categories are already well established on the App Store, and new apps will only be accepted if they provide a meaningfully different or improved user experience.

The company also stated that apps in these categories could be removed in the future if they are not maintained, enhanced, or capable of attracting customers.

The change comes as Apple introduces new app discovery tools, including personalised recommendations and additional merchandising features designed to help developers reach users more effectively. By reducing the number of low-quality or inactive apps, Apple aims to make it easier for developers to discover and invest in meaningful improvements and innovation.

Apple further described certain categories—including drinking games, Kama Sutra apps, fart apps, and burp apps—as examples of low-quality, low-effort, or mediocre experiences. Developers who repeatedly submit such apps could risk losing access to the Apple Developer Program altogether.

The company noted that its existing App Store Improvements process already notifies developers when apps become outdated or experience very low download activity, allowing them to update and improve their products before removal becomes necessary.

In effect, the revised guidelines make it clear that apps falling under Apple’s long-standing “fart app rule” may no longer face rejection only at submission—they could also be removed from the App Store if they fail to remain relevant and actively maintained.