Apple Shares 2024 App Store Data: Rejections, Removals, and More

[MacRumors]

Apple published its third annual App Store Transparency Report today [PDF], sharing insights into the App Store over the course of 2024. The report includes data on the number of apps rejected during the year, the number of customer and developer accounts deactivated, info on how many apps were removed from the App Store, and so on.

There were 1,961,596 total apps on the App Store at the end of 2024, up nearly 100,000 from last year. The App Store sees 839,266,915 average weekly app downloads, and 813,110,348 average weekly visitors to the App Store, with both metrics up compared to 2023.

Apple reviewed 7.77 million app submissions, and rejected 1.93 million of those. Performance, legal, design, business, and safety were the top reasons for rejection, in that order.

Of the 1.93 million submissions that were rejected, 295,109 were approved after developers addressed the issue. Apple removed 82,509 apps from the App Store during the year, primarily in the Utilities and Games categories. Apps that were removed are broken down by the reason behind the action, with design issues and fraud at the top of the list.

1. Guideline 4.0 -- Design: 42,252
2. DPLA 3.2(f) -- Fraud: 38,315
3. DPLA 6.3 -- Intellectual Property Infringement: 425
4. Guideline 4.3.0 -- Spam: 294
5. DPLA 4.8 -- Export Control: 285
6. Guideline 4.1.0 -- Copycats: 128
7. Guideline 5.6.0 -- Developer Code of Conduct: 99
8. Guideline 5.0.0 -- General: 89
9. Guideline 5.2.1 -- Intellectual Property -- General: 77
10. Guideline 3.1.2 -- Subscriptions: 69

Apple also pulled some apps due to government takedown demands. The majority of government takedown requests came from China, and Apple removed 1,307 apps at China's request. There were 171 apps removed at Russia's request, 79 from South Korea, 55 from Ukraine, and 50 from Jordan.

Apple received 26,224 appeals of app removals, with 6,978 from China and 3,571 from the United States. Only 78 apps in China and 71 apps in the United States were restored after going through Apple's appeal process.

There were 128,961,839 customer accounts terminated, and Apple says it prevented over $2 billion in fraud. Apple also terminated 146,747 developer accounts due to fraud and export control.

Apple has shared App Store Transparency Reports since 2023, because it agreed to do so as part of a 2021 class action lawsuit settlement with developers. Apple promised to deliver meaningful statistics about the app review process, listing everything from number of apps rejected to info on search queries. More info is available in the full report, and even more data can be found in the supplemental file available from Apple's legal site.

Article Link: Apple Shares 2024 App Store Data: Rejections, Removals, and More

 

[turbineseaplane]

Apple has shared ‌App Store‌ Transparency Reports since 2023, because it agreed to do so as part of a 2021 class action lawsuit settlement with developers

oh

So this really isn’t something they were doing by choice.

Seems like Tim Cook Apple has to be forced by legislation and court judgments to do anything in anyone else’s interest.

 

[sw1tcher]

Apple removed 82,509 apps from the App Store during the year, primarily in the Utilities and Games categories. Apps that were removed are broken down by the reason behind the action, with design issues and fraud at the top of the list.

1. Guideline 4.0 -- Design: 42,252
2. DPLA 3.2(f) -- Fraud: 38,315
3. DPLA 6.3 -- Intellectual Property Infringement: 425
4. Guideline 4.3.0 -- Spam: 294
5. DPLA 4.8 -- Export Control: 285
6. Guideline 4.1.0 -- Copycats: 128

Apple tells us they employ "a comprehensive approach to combating fraud on the App Store, with teams across the company working to detect, investigate, and prevent malicious activity before it can reach users."

If Apple removed 38,315 apps last year due to fraud, doesn't that mean those apps and their malicious activity reached users before Apple caught them? 🤔

 

[WilliApple]

1. Guideline 4.0 -- Design: 42,252

Just letting y'all know, I get rejected (Not my app being deleted) for this because Apple has strict guidelines on how an app should look.
One example is "The button cannot look like this, it has to look like this." it's so annoying...

 

[Skyscraperfan]

"Design issues". Apple does not even allow developers to hide the notch, dynamic island or rounded corners.

 

[Le0M]

There were 1,961,596 total apps on the App Store at the end of 2024

Apple reviewed 7.77 million app submissions, and rejected 1.93 million of those

The numbers don’t add up.
How can there be below 2 million apps in the Appstore, if apple reviewed and accepted almost 5 million of them last year alone?

 

[Anonymous123]

Just letting y'all know, I get rejected (Not my app being deleted) for this because Apple has strict guidelines on how an app should look.
One example is "The button cannot look like this, it has to look like this." it's so annoying...

This is another reason why there should be alternate app stores available. Imagine a grocery store refusing to stock a product because the packaging didn’t look a specific way.

 

[jz0309]

Just letting y'all know, I get rejected (Not my app being deleted) for this because Apple has strict guidelines on how an app should look.
One example is "The button cannot look like this, it has to look like this." it's so annoying...

Well good, as a user I would hate to deal with 10 different button designs across 20 different apps…

 

[JeziLondon]

Back to maths class for the macrumors writing staff member 😉

 

[Aeronauts]

There seem to a lot of dormant apps that haven’t been updated for years. Do they ever get removed?

 

[Donkey Man]

Yet we cannot search for non-IAP apps.

 

[HuskerNKS]

The numbers don’t add up.
How can there be below 2 million apps in the Appstore, if apple reviewed and accepted almost 5 million of them last year alone?

Updates are reviewed.

 

[DougieS]

The numbers don’t add up.
How can there be below 2 million apps in the Appstore, if apple reviewed and accepted almost 5 million of them last year alone?

Each update to an existing app is also an app submission. Some apps update regularly every week, that’s 52 submissions for 1 app each year.

 

[DougieS]

This is another reason why there should be alternate app stores available. Imagine a grocery store refusing to stock a product because the packaging didn’t look a specific way.

This happens with grocery stores.

Britain’s Biggest Supermarket Will Ban Brands Using Excessive Plastic Packaging

It will “reserve the right not to list” products with too much non-recyclable packaging.

www.globalcitizen.org

 

[Aeronauts]

There are far too many apps in the AppStore. I don’t have time to wade through them all which is why I only download apps I know.

They need a better system of reviews, ratings and separation to make it easier to find good apps.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

But...but... I have to pay $99/year individual to 299/year per member for Enterprise. Why should I pay a % to Apple?

The absurdity of whining never ends. Theft, fraud, currency exchange/taxes, global distribution and reduction of losses all built-in never mind the mountain of decades refined APIs you whine to rumor mill sites about being treated like hostiles.

I would not waste a single thought on it. 30%-> 15% and yet you still complain.

The personnel invested globally for this entire hardware/software ecosystem is staggering. The same whiners gave us Trump.

 

[Quasselstripper]

The numbers don’t add up.
How can there be below 2 million apps in the Appstore, if apple reviewed and accepted almost 5 million of them last year alone?

Apps get updated.

 

[Aeronauts]

This happens with grocery stores.

Britain’s Biggest Supermarket Will Ban Brands Using Excessive Plastic Packaging

It will “reserve the right not to list” products with too much non-recyclable packaging.

www.globalcitizen.org

If you read the article Tesco are not banning items because they look a certain way, there taking action against items with excessive plastic packaging which can’t be recycled and ultimately ends up polluting our seas and contributing to climate change. Very different.

 

[platinumaqua]

Yet we cannot search for non-IAP apps.

and no way to filter for ad free or tracking free apps - latter should be easy since they mandate the privacy nutrition labels

 

[DougieS]

If you read the article Tesco are not banning items because they look a certain way, there taking action against items with excessive plastic packaging which can’t be recycled and ultimately ends up polluting our seas and contributing to climate change. Very different.

I know probably not the best link, but was a quick search at first - there are other examples where retailers have chosen not to stock simply because they don't like the look of a product. Most don't get made public, but my point still stands that it does happen.

Anyway, this is detracting from the actual topic of this thread.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I guess my idea of a fart flashlight app with ads will be rejected.

 

[jole]

I think this is good PR: Demonstrating the amazing amount of work it takes to run an app store and some of the value it creates to its users.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Well good, as a user I would hate to deal with 10 different button designs across 20 different apps…

We're talking about 3rd party apps here, not Apple's default apps.

There are far too many apps in the AppStore. I don’t have time to wade through them all which is why I only download apps I know.

They need a better system of reviews, ratings and separation to make it easier to find good apps.

Same. I haven't found or discovered an app in the App Store in several years. I know what I want before I open, and don't bother browsing around.

 

[svish]

Interesting to see all the various numbers. Looks like Apple is providing App store data and statistic all week long.

 

[jz0309]

We're talking about 3rd party apps here, not Apple's default apps.

I know that, and that is why I said: Good.
It's about the user experience, not what developers want, right?
never mind, not here on MR ...