Right now, apps are getting pulled from sale without any warning, new submissions get stuck in review, and developer accounts have been getting terminated. In 2025, Apple rejected over 2.09 million apps, and took down almost 59,000 for bait-and-switch reasons alone (not to mention a number of others for various reasons). What's different here is not just the volume but that Apple has fundamentally shifted how it polices the store. It's moved from reactive moderation to aggressive enforcement and is attacking subscription app founders and indie developers who have actual revenue exposure. While this crackdown is justified, if you have a live app making money, you need to take action immediately.
"The biggest App Store news is honestly scary. Apps are being automatically removed from sale, new apps are getting stuck in review, and developer accounts are being terminated."
About a quarter of these submissions got rejected. Apple's had enough of spam, copycat clones, privacy violations, hidden features, and the like.
This is not routine housekeeping.Apple has redrawn the line, and apps that slipped through a year ago now face removal. If you've been playing loose with the guidelines, that gap just closed.
Subscription apps are getting hit the worst — restrictive paywalls, onboarding dark patterns, and aggressive upsells are prime targets. But it impacts apps that don't deliver what they promise, apps with low engagement, and even abandoned projects. So what's behind the sudden change? We'll take a look into how the store got flooded with AI-generated garbage, and why Apple is finally putting its foot down.
Apple's had enough of terrible lookalike apps cluttering up the App Store. In April 2025, Google Play removed 47% of all apps, resulting in higher trust in the platform. Now, Apple is making similar guideline changes where apps that don't update, improve, or attract users can face removal. Apple aims to regain trust before AI-generated junk takes over the platform.
"The goal of all these changes is to win back users' trust. At some point, Apple has realized that letting thousands of copycat apps flood App Store will eventually lead to the worst-case scenario - people losing trust in the platform."
Developers handed Apple the excuse. Look no further than the barrage of paywalls without content previews, untested apps, AI-generated icons, and more.
"We may remove these apps from the App Store going forward if they are not updated, improved, or do not attract customers."
Weak deep-rooted apps? Vulnerable. Repeated violations? Grounds for removal. The cleanup's just starting — tighter scrutiny, more re-reviews, less patience for half-baked submissions. You built this problem. Now you're living with the consequences.
Apple don't just enforce its rules the same way every time. There are three distinct levers that have varying risks and are triggered by various actions: automatic removal, review stalls and account termination. Automatic removal is for apps that are stale or have very low engagement in highly competitive app categories or apps that broke the rules egregiously. Review stalls force apps to wait longer for new app approvals in highly saturated categories. Aggressive paywall tactics—including forced rating prompts, toggle paywalls, blocking exit flows, and repeat “one-time” offer tries—are more likely to grab Apple's attention and spark app rejections. Termination can happen, and in those cases, only 4.9% of appeals are accepted and this leads to an app's reinstatement. The stakes are real.
• Auto-Removal
If your app is stuck in a super saturated niche and doesn't improve or gain downloads, it could be removed from the App Store. The Mac Observer reports that, as part of its 2026 guideline changes, Apple may begin removing apps that aren't being updated or improved, or that are attracting customers. This is more of a volume call than a quality call. If you're not actively developing an app that's moving the needle, it could be deleted.
Egregious policy violations don't wait for neglect. Clear policy violations, such as undisclosed monetization, deceptive claims, or payment manipulation, will result in immediate removal. We don't consider user age or audience size. If you really slip up, you're gone.
• Review stalls and extended delays
AI generated a glut of application which clogged up the review queue. Analysis of independent datasets shows that it now takes Apple roughly 2.5x longer to reject an app than approve one. Apps that are newly submitted in categories that are filled with the highest number of apps may have the longest wait times. Some apps may sit in a reviewer's queue for weeks without being touched.
• Paywall tactics under scrutiny
Apple flags paywalls that seem manipulative, like those showing exit-discount offers. Paywalls that hide the implied auto-renewal terms are also banned. Forced rating prompts during onboarding are another red flag for Apple. Remove these before submitting your app. Apple's reviewers are aggressively policing this stuff right now, and I can't overstate it.
• Account termination
Terminate an account for association with a previously terminated account, repeated violations, or even for fraud. Apple's own transparency data shows that, once terminated, just 4.9% of appeals led to reinstatement. That's not a typo. Your account is essentially gone.
The three groups most exposed to Apple's app rejections: app developers that manage portfolios that have dozens of nearly identical apps in the same niche, app developers that rely on aggressive subscription paywalls, and app developers that submit many apps without validating the market or niche. Portfolio bloat suffers from simultaneous removals and termination, aggressive subscription paywalls get rejected for manipulation, and spray and pray submissions can receive so many rejections they tilt the risk meter toward the account as a whole. The solutions to each are different, but the principle is the same: act now, before Apple acts for you.
The Issue: Multiple near-identical niche apps.
Accounts that had several versions of very similar, niche apps felt this wave the most. We know Apple cares about volume more than value.
The Fix: Audit your portfolio critically and remove from sale any apps that don't have a clear purpose, differentiation and recent updates. One app with a specific focus and utility will stand out over ten generic copycats.
Subscription apps overloaded with aggressive conversion tactics.
Exit-discount flows, forced rating gates, and repeat "one-time" offers still convert, but they've now become liabilities. Apple's crackdown on paywall manipulation is explicit.
Solution: Look at each paywall screen. Is it blocking the user exit? Is it a one-time offer disguised as a repeat offer? Cut out anything that prevents or manipulates users from leaving the paywall screen.
App CRO growth specialist, Akanksha Barma advises that developers should update apps that potentially violate any guidelines such as review prompts during onboardings and discounts during paywall cancellation flows.
Akanksha Barma, App CRO growth specialist identifies discounted offers during cancel flow as an optimization tactic she would now think twice about deploying—something that was conversion-friendly under the old regime but has become a liability under this one.
Problem: Submitted new apps are getting rejected as spam 4.3 times on average. They are also taking longer to be reviewed.
The classic "launch ten apps and see what sticks" approach is no longer viable. Validation needs to happen before app development.
Solution: Research, validate, and develop something with a differentiated angle. Submitting one strong app is better than submitting 10 generic ones. Spray-and-pray is not only costly for review time, but also heats up your Apple Dev account.
Problem: Rejections add up to risk on an account level.
Each rejection stacks on top of the others. Apple now sees a pattern.
Solution: ...treat every rejection like an emergency. Work to address the source of the rejections, not just argue why your post should be approved. If you don't, you risk getting an account-level review that could potentially take down your whole account.
The cleanup is also picking up the pace. Developers who audit, validate, and clean up now won't be blindsided when it's time to hit the next wave.
So, here's the rundown: audit apps in your portfolio and remove stale ones, fix paywall and onboarding violations, treat rejections as account threats, validate an idea before developing it, and invest in originality. Some of these have longer payoffs than others, but they're all worth thinking through. Just try to prioritize the things that could get you in hot water with Apple first.
- Check Out Your Apps and Delete Ones that Don't Serve a Purpose
Open up App Store Connect and be honest with yourself. Is anything stale, untested, or a clone of ten others? If so, nix it. I'm not saying delete your apps and work—I'm saying, don't make your app portfolio look like a spam factory. For instance, five active and different apps look like you're invested in your app work. Whereas, 20 "Budget Tracker" versions that are all similar look like a spray-and-pray app development method, which is what Apple's cracking down on.
Low-hanging fruit - do it later this afternoon.
2. Audit Every Onboarding and Paywall Screen
When was the last time you actually tried to exit your own paywall? Are there forced ratings, repeat discounts on cancel, or flows that block you from exit? Identify and remove them. Give users a clean exit with a preview before payment.
On to another quick win.
3. Treat Every Rejection as an Account-Level Threat
A rejection isn't just a reco for your individual app anymore. Rejections add up and Apple penalizes your entire account. Fix the issue that's causing the rejections and resubmit. Don't argue your way out; build your way out.
4. Don't Submit Too Many New Apps
Used to be that you'd create 10 apps, see which ones stuck, and abandon the rest. Not anymore. You'll achieve 4.3 Spam rejection very quickly. Do some pre-validations on the app idea you're considering. Research it a bit, build something that's genuinely useful (not spammy), then submit.
5. Invest in Creativity and Originality
Apple is protective of app developers who build delightful yet distinct apps. Not because they are kind—simply because creative, original apps drive trust.
Nowadays there are some quick wins (fix paywall violations, remove dead weight) that can buy your app some immediate safety. Longer term, you'll need to start refactoring app onboarding for both conversion and compliance. A formal app conversion rate optimization audit and playbook can help you identify potential paywall violations and overall onboarding frictions that you could be exposed for before Apple flags you. This is why you need Appmaxxing—find your exposure, tackle it and move on.
Appealing an account flag is a narrow window and reversals are rare. Which is why acting now matters.
"Don't sit back and wait for things to work themselves out. The review process keeps getting tighter and tighter. And right now, sitting on your hands is not an option." — Viktor Seraleev, @seraleev
Account terminations often feel final. They're not. While reported Apple data indicates that about 4.9% of App Store appeals get reversed, it happens. When you're terminated, you get a notice. Notices give you 14-30 days to file a single appeal. Your appeal will also need to clearly state which guideline you violated, provide proof you've remedied it, and explain the remediation steps or app changes you'll make moving forward. This appeal opportunity is limited and time-sensitive — so don't delay.
Q: How rare is reinstatement?
It's quite rare. Apple maintained its decision to terminate employees in 102 of 116 instances. Similarly, in 2025, only 4.9% of the 10,127 appeals were successful. It's not a great sign if you're hoping for reinstatement as a backup option.
Q: What's the appeal window?
Its pretty tight. Within 14–30 calendar days from your termination notice, depending on the specific violation —you can submit an appeal. There's a limit of one appeal per account. Miss the window, and you won't be able to appeal.
Q: What should be included in an appeal?
Make sure to be specific -- mention the exact guideline you violated, provide concrete evidence that you've fixed the issue. and describe what changes you are making to prevent it from happening again.
Q: Should I wait it out?
No. As soon as you get notice, act. Every single day that you wait on it is one you aren't putting into your appeal.
Here's a hard truth -- while you are most likely going to lose, and technically are not entitled to reversal, the fact that reversals do exist in the first place is why appealing prior to your termination is the only thing you can really do.
Apple's crackdown is the start of a permanent shift in how the App Store operates. Instead of only looking to see if the changes to updates affect the app in any incremental ways, the decision now is to repeatedly check other components of the app and re-evaluate it every time it's updated. That means your app won't be, "Approved once and it's fine"— each time you submit an update, you'll be evaluated again. Yet developers who survive this will start to realize that CRO and guideline compliance are no longer separate to-do lists—they're one and the same job. The floor has been reset, and that's actually good news if you move now, because founders who clean up their portfolios and practices today are building on solid ground, not quicksand.
How does that work in practice? Think about it as permanent audit mode. Every update is a re-evaluation, not a delta check. And honestly, that's the part I keep coming back to—it changes everything about how you should be shipping.
Akanksha Barma, an App CRO Growth Specialist also says this cleanup has just started, and the reviews will be more scrutinizing.
What got you here won't get you there. As you watch other devs panic, you'll either wait for things to settle or act fast — audit your portfolio, proactively correct any guideline violations before Apple spots them, and treat every submission as if your entire account is on the line... because it is. Will it be scary? Yes. But this crackdown essentially puts everyone at the same starting point. If you move first, that's your advantage.