Apple is cleaning up the App Store by clearing out abandoned apps and limiting name length

Starting next week -- September 7 specifically -- Apple is starting to clear the crap out of the App Store. What does this mean? It means removing what Apple describes as "problematic and abandoned apps", as well as changing the way apps can be named to prevent developers using SEO'd titles for their creations.

Moving forward, app titles will be limited to just 50 characters, reducing the chance of naming them in a deceptive way. Apple appears to have quite a task ahead of it as it plans to review every app currently featured in the App Store, before contacting developers about those with problems.

If an app is found to be problematic, the developer will be warned so they can take the appropriate action. But Apple warns that "apps that crash on launch will be removed immediately". The company is very keen to stress this point. So much so that it mentions it twice in the App Store Improvements of Apple Developer.

Talking about trying to improve the quality of apps that appear in the App Store, Apple says:

Quality is extremely important to us. We know that many of you work hard to build innovative apps and update your apps on the App Store with new content and features. However, there are also apps on the App Store that no longer function as intended or follow current review guidelines, and others which have not been supported with compatibility updates for a long time. We are implementing an ongoing process of evaluating apps for these issues, notifying their developers, and removing problematic and abandoned apps from the App Store.

This is something that is unlikely to be met with negativity, although there will of course be a few apps that users will complain they are now not able to install on new iPhones and iPads. There will also be very few user complaints about changing the ways apps may be named. Apple explains:

Search is one of the most frequently used methods for customers to discover and download apps from the App Store. In hopes of influencing search results, some developers have used extremely long app names which include descriptions and terms not directly related to their app. These long names are not fully displayed on the App Store and provide no user value. App names you submit in iTunes Connect for new apps and updates will now be limited to no longer than 50 characters. You can learn more about creating effective app names, as well as icons, keywords, screenshots, and descriptions, by reading the App Store Product Page.

Clearly this is something that will be an on-going process, and it's a move that will go a long way to ensure continued faith in the security and quality of the App Store.

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