Skip to Content

Apple Confirms New App Store Policies on Bug Fix Updates and Challenging Guidelines Are Live

by

Back in June at WWDC, Apple announced several changes to its handling of App Store review, noting that it would in most cases no longer hold up bug fix updates over violations of ‌App Store‌ guidelines, and that it would allow developers to challenge existing guidelines.

app store on ios 13
In a note to developers today, Apple confirmed that those two changes have been implemented, encouraging developers to suggest changes to guidelines and Apple's development platforms.

For apps that are already on the App Store, bug fixes will no longer be delayed over guideline violations except for those related to legal issues. You'll instead be able to address guideline violations in your next submission. And now, in addition to appealing decisions about whether an app violates guidelines, you can suggest changes to the guidelines. We also encourage you to submit your App Store and Apple development platform suggestions so we can continue to improve experiences for the developer community.

Apple has been involved in a number of notable ‌App Store‌ controversies in recent months, from the Hey email app rejection to the battle with Epic Games, while regulators have also been taking a look at Apple's policies regarding ‌App Store‌ commissions and exclusive control over app distribution.

Tag: App Store

Popular Stories

MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

Apple Announces $599 'MacBook Neo' With A18 Pro Chip

Wednesday March 4, 2026 6:15 am PST by
Apple today announced the "MacBook Neo," an all-new kind of low-cost Mac featuring the A18 Pro chip for $599. The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to be powered by an iPhone chip; the A18 Pro debuted in 2024's iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple says it is up to 50% faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5, up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads,...
Read Full Article • 1352 comments
MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

First MacBook Neo Benchmarks Are In: Here's How It Compares to the M1 MacBook Air

Thursday March 5, 2026 4:07 pm PST by
Benchmarks for the new MacBook Neo surfaced today, and unsurprisingly, CPU performance is almost identical to the iPhone 16 Pro. The MacBook Neo uses the same 6-core A18 Pro chip that was first introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro, but it has one fewer GPU core. The MacBook Neo earned a single-core score of 3461 and a multi-core score of 8668, along with a Metal score of 31286. Here's how the...
Read Full Article • 325 comments
Multicolored Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature

Apple Accidentally Leaks 'MacBook Neo'

Tuesday March 3, 2026 7:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have prematurely revealed the name of its rumored lower-cost MacBook model, which is expected to be announced this Wednesday. A regulatory document for a "MacBook Neo" (Model A3404) has appeared on Apple's website. Unfortunately, there are no further details or images available yet. While the PDF file does not contain the "MacBook Neo" name, it briefly appeared in a link...
Read Full Article • 402 comments

Top Rated Comments

PSeg90 Avatar
PSeg90
72 months ago
Apple should update the policy that requires developers to explain EXACTLY which bugs were fixed. They shouldn't be able to get away with "bug fixes and improvements" as the only reasoning for update.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Beeplance Avatar
Beeplance
72 months ago

Apple should update the policy that requires developers to explain EXACTLY which bugs were fixed. They shouldn't be able to get away with "bug fixes and improvements" as the only reasoning for update.
Agree. Every update of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc all "bug fixes and improvements" that says absolutely nothing I need to know. If you don't tell me what you fix, ain't no reason for me to update a perfectly working app.

Apps like Reddit, Apollo, Telegram, and others actually put in the effort to state all their fixes and new features in their changelog. I appreciate those developers who are transparent about their fixes and actually highlight what's patched to users.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
VolceOntra Avatar
VolceOntra
72 months ago

Explain to who, the final users?
Why would they care about technical details?
If all I did was bugfix, that's what I write in the changelog. If it is something a user could notice, I may want to point it out, especially if it was something I got a review about, but if I solved a weird crash that happened to a small amount of users, why should I explain it?
Because when that happens on weekly basis and then all the users are required to download the app again, it gets pretty annoying. More so, if the user is experiencing some of the bugs - it gives a false sense of hope that the bug fixes will address what they are experiencing.

I don't think the list needs to be comprehensive or overly technical, but communicating to your end users is always a good thing.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
VolceOntra Avatar
VolceOntra
72 months ago

Features get pushed to, not just bug fixes. Depending on the app, there are many factors that play into development cycles. User feedback, competitive reasons, opportunity, staffing, calendering etc. Getting builds to the store isn’t a single step. All of these areas are part of the decision-making in getting those builds out. Teams work hard to close out bug inventory and merge this into new code. It’s a balance not an Excuse. Remember ships that don’t produce what you as a consumer want or expect won’t survive. You control their market share through downloads not Apple. If bugs aren’t listed but revs are happening at a regular rate be happy you’re getting some innovation too.
I've been a Software Engineer for about a decade. I understand the development cycle. Yet, I still value communication to end users. You can both say "WE LAUNCHED FEATURE XYZ!!!" and "We fixed a crash that could occur on workflow XYZ". Like I said, it doesn't have to be exhaustive, but if it's a bug affecting a lot of users, it might be worth point out. To a large portion of customers, I'm guessing saying a generic "We fixed bugs" seem lazy, and it looks like some users on this forum agree.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ijordano Avatar
ijordano
72 months ago
I want them to force developers to use more specific language than "bug fixes and improvements" for 200 updates in a row
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ruka.snow Avatar
ruka.snow
72 months ago

Apple should update the policy that requires developers to explain EXACTLY which bugs were fixed. They shouldn't be able to get away with "bug fixes and improvements" as the only reasoning for update.
Oh don't say that... how will Microsoft get their almost weekly MS Outlook update out if they have to actually write what they changed?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments