App Store: A Mission to Win Back Users Trust

The latest App Store news is honestly scary. Apps are being removed from sale automatically, new apps are getting stuck in review, and developer accounts are being terminated.

The main goal behind all these changes is to win back users’ trust. Apple has realized that allowing thousands of copycat apps to flood the App Store will eventually lead to the worst possible outcome: people losing trust in the platform.

Think about how many times over the past year you’ve deleted an app after downloading it, going through a long onboarding process, and finally discovering that you couldn’t even use it without paying. There was no way to close the paywall and see what you were actually paying for. As a user, you had two options: start a free trial or delete the app.

Does this approach help build trust? Of course not.

You’ve definitely seen developer accounts that make you wonder how they even got approved. AI-generated icons, AI-generated screenshots with stretched iPhones. Every time you see something like that, you ask yourself: How did this pass review? Why didn’t the developer put in some creativity and add a little piece of themselves to the product?

Gradually, the App Store has started turning into a graveyard of AI apps. Built with a single prompt, given an AI-generated icon and AI-generated screenshots, and sent straight to review.

Developers have become so lazy that some don’t even test their own apps anymore. They build something with an AI generator, submit it, and then reviewers find bugs and ask the developer to fix them.

Sorry, but we brought this on ourselves. We pushed Apple toward these changes. Things simply cannot continue this way. Both Apple and developers understand that.

What happens next?

I’m confident that the cleanup has only just begun. Expect repeated checks, more scrutiny, and apps being reviewed again when updates are submitted.

Let’s not forget that Apple has a great example to learn from. In April 2025, Google Play removed 47% of all apps, and it worked. Trust increased, and people started buying Android apps more often.

What do I recommend doing?

Whatever you do, don’t sit back and wait.

In the past, I would have told you to take a break and get some rest. Apple has always been extremely active in late August, September, and early October. The big conference, new products, and all the usual announcements.

But right now, sitting on your hands is not an option.

1. Audit your App Store portfolio.

Open App Store Connect and review your apps. Remove from sale anything that no longer fits your plans. Just hit Remove from Sale.

2. Update apps that might violate the rules.

Review your apps carefully. Do they ask users for ratings during onboarding? Offer discounts in ways that might violate the guidelines? Prevent users from exiting the payment flow? Fix these issues before Apple finds them.

3. Don’t accumulate rejections.

In the past, you could be stubborn and spend weeks going back and forth with the Apple team, trying to get an approval. Today, repeated rejections could put your entire developer account at risk.

Take every rejection seriously, even the smallest ones. Address the issue properly instead of arguing with the review team just for the sake of getting your app approved.

4. Be selective about new apps.

Previously, you could launch 10 apps, see which ones gained traction, and abandon the rest. That strategy is changing.

It’s becoming much easier to get hit with a 4.3 Spam rejection. Do your research, validate your idea, and prepare properly before building and submitting a new app.

5. Don’t forget creativity.

We don’t create apps just to make money. Put a piece of yourself into what you build. Your apps are the result of your creativity.

Apple will always have a reason to support developers who think creatively and build something interesting, original, and different from everything else on the store.

Remember: it’s much better to take action now than to spend the next few months stressed out, waiting for the outcome of an appeal.

The good news is that there is still hope. A great example is the reversal of a developer account termination decision. These cases are rare, which makes it especially valuable for all of us to see that reversals are still possible.

The App Store is changing. Adapt now, before you’re forced to.