Apple Updates App Store Guidelines, Calls Out 'Creepy' Apps for Exclusion

appstoreApple 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.

Top Rated Comments

D.T. Avatar
112 months ago
This doesn’t bode well for my new app Peeping Tom.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sonmi451 Avatar
112 months ago
I wish Apple would enable an age based search tool so I can filter out 80% of the top paid and free apps, and be able to find useful apps. Or maybe a "permanently hide" app feature so it never shows up in any results.

I feel like I used to find cool apps a while back, but not as much anymore. Maybe I need to find some review site or something.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pk7 Avatar
112 months ago
Some of these guidelines are hilarious!

- "We view Apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate. If you want to criticize a religion, write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical App."

- "If your App looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you're trying to get your first practice App into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection. We have lots of serious developers who don't want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour."

- "We will reject Apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, "I'll know it when I see it". And we think that you will also know it when you cross it."

- "If your App is rejected, we have a Review Board that you can appeal to. If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps."

- "This is a living document, and new Apps presenting new questions may result in new rules at any time. Perhaps your App will trigger this."

- "2.11 Apps that duplicate Apps already in the App Store may be rejected, particularly if there are many of them, such as fart, burp, flashlight, and Kama Sutra Apps"

- "14.2 Professional political satirists and humorists are exempt from the ban on offensive or mean-spirited commentary"

- "15.5 Apps that include games of Russian roulette will be rejected"

- "18.1 Apps containing pornographic material, defined by Webster's Dictionary as "explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings", will be rejected"

:D
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TouchMint.com Avatar
112 months ago
How about telling us the screen resolutions so we can have our apps ready for the release...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
troop231 Avatar
112 months ago
How about telling us the screen resolutions so we can have our apps ready for the release...

Yeah seriously! The resizable iPhone simulators are garbage and impossible to really design around.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
112 months ago
Jennifer Lawrence approves.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Gurman: iOS 17 to Provide Several 'Most Requested Features'

Sunday March 26, 2023 6:05 am PDT by
Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:06 am PDT by
Following nearly six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 is expected to be released to the public as soon as this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Some Apple Employees Seriously Concerned About Mixed-Reality Headset as Announcement Draws Closer

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:25 am PDT by
Some Apple employees are concerned about the usefulness and price point of the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset, The New York Times reports. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane Initial enthusiasm around the device at the company has apparently become skepticism, according to eight current and former Apple employees speaking to The New York Times. The change of tone...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Steve Jobs Theater dusk

Apple Reportedly Demoed Mixed-Reality Headset to Executives in the Steve Jobs Theater Last Week

Sunday March 26, 2023 5:53 am PDT by
Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement planned for June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of...
top stories 25mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Design Leak, iOS 16.4 Coming Soon, and More

Saturday March 25, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware. iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new ...
apple tv 4k red image

Apple Releases tvOS 16.4 for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD

Monday March 27, 2023 10:00 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 16.4, the fourth major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that came out last September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.4 comes two months following the release of tvOS 16.3. The tvOS 16.4 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌ by going to System > Software Update....