Apple Gets Ready to Eliminate Almost 30% of Apps in the App Store

News emerged last week that Apple has been emailing developers who haven't updated their apps in over two years and threatening with removal if the apps aren't updated in the next 30 days.

I was curious how many apps and games could disappear next month, so I used Explorer to see how many apps in the App Store haven't been updated in over two years.

The short answer is a lot!

The more precise answer is 752,412. That's right, Apple is threatening to remove almost a million apps from App Store. Explorer shows these apps come from 260,000 unique developers. That's a lot of emails!

There are 2,126,366 apps and games in the App Store right, now which means Apple could be eliminating 35% of apps in a few days.

Who's going to take the hit? Digging a bit deeper with Explorer, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the largest category to get hit is games, which make up roughly 20% of all offending apps. Education, Business, Utilities, and Lifestyle round out the top 5.

Will Apple actually delete so many apps? It won't be the first time. Over the last few years, Apple has quietly groomed the App Store, eliminating hundreds of thousands of apps that are no longer up to snuff, so this is totally plausible.

Weekly News & Insights to Help Your App Win

Join 45,000+ developers, marketers, investors, and entrepreneurs who get smarter every week.


Related Resources

Insights
Short Drama Apps Turn Quibi’s Failure into a $146M Success in Q1, With Revenue Surging 56% Last Month Alone

Short dramas are the latest trend on the App Store and Google Play, commanding millions in consumer spending in Q1.

Insights
ChatGPT's Mobile Revenue Trades Stagnation for Growth

Has ChatGPT's revenue hit double digits yet? Yes. Is revenue still growing? Yes! Double digits? Yes! March was a good m...