Apple Updates App Store Guidelines, Calls Out 'Creepy' Apps for Exclusion
Apple today updated its App Store review guidelines ahead of the launch of iPhone 6 and iOS 8, adding sections for new features such as extensions, HealthKit, HomeKit and TestFlight. Additionally, Apple tweaked its introductory remark to specifically call out "creepy" apps as unwelcome in the App Store.
We have over a million Apps in the App Store. If your App doesn't do something useful, unique or provide some form of lasting entertainment, or if your app is plain creepy, it may not be accepted.
The new guidelines, primarily in sections 25 through 28, outline what use of the new features would get an app rejected from the App Store. For instance, extensions must provide some functionality and must remain functional without network access. Keyboard extensions can only collect user data for improving the functionality of the keyboard and nothing else.
The sections for both HealthKit and HomeKit include guidelines for user data, with apps using HomeKit not allowed to collect any sort of user data for advertising and data mining while HealthKit is only allowed to collect data with a user's permission. TestFlight guidelines include limitations on distribution and compensation for beta testers.
Additionally, Apple added some notes to its Metadata section for the App Store's new app previews feature, noting that apps may only use video screen captures for previews and that app previews cannot display personal information without permission.
iOS 8 will be included on the iPhone 6 reportedly arriving later this month and likely launch a few days earlier for current devices.
Popular Stories
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Apple smart home hub concept
This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system.
In a report this week, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform will blend...
Last week, Apple released and then pulled a software tool that accidentally contained identifiers for many unreleased devices and chips, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. His findings included new models of the Studio Display, Apple TV, Apple Watches, Apple Vision Pro, iPad mini, HomePod mini, and more.
Here is what was uncovered in the file, according to MacRumors contributor ...
The seventh developer beta of iOS 26 is now available. While we are now in the later stages of the iOS 26 beta cycle, there are still some changes.
Below, we outline everything new that we have found in iOS 26 beta 7 so far.
Redesigned Blood Oxygen Feature
The seventh developer betas of iOS 26 and watchOS 26 include a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch ...
Alleged images of the iPhone 17 Pro Max's internal design have surfaced, offering a potential look inside the device before it is announced by Apple next month.
The images were shared by the account "yeux1122" this week, in a blog post on the Korean platform Naver. The account aggregates Apple rumors and leaks, so it is likely not the original source of the images, and it is unclear if they...
Apple is expected to delay the launch of its base iPhone 18 model until spring 2027, marking a major shift in the company's long-established release cycle, according to South Korea's ETNews.
The report claims that Apple has informed some of its suppliers that the iPhone 18 will not be part of the September 2026 iPhone lineup. Instead, the company will unveil only higher-end models in the...
At least one new Apple Watch model launching next year will feature a "significant redesign," according to Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes.
In a paywalled report this week, citing supply chain insiders, DigiTimes claimed that a high-end 2026 Apple Watch model will feature "exterior design" changes, including but not limited to "eight sensors arranged in a ring pattern visible...
As we wait for WWDC to kick off next Monday, Apple today announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, recognizing apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.
The 2025 Apple Design Award winners are listed below, with one app and one game selected per category:
Delight and Fun - CapWords (App) and Balatro (Game)
Innovation - Play (App) and PBJ -...
