Apple has recently made a groundbreaking move by releasing its first-ever App Store Transparency Report. This comprehensive report reveals a variety of statistics, including the number of apps rejected, reasons for rejection, and data about customer and developer accounts. The report aims to provide meaningful insights into the stringent app review process that Apple follows.
In 2022, Apple received a staggering total of 6,101,913 app submissions for the App Store. Among these, 1,679,694 apps were rejected due to a multitude of reasons, including security, performance, design, and legal issues. The transparency report meticulously details the specific App Store policies violated by these rejected apps.
The rules that suffered the most violations were the Design 4.0 rule and the DPLA 3.2 cheating rule, resulting in 149,378 and 32,009 rejections, respectively. However, rejections were not always the end of the road. Developers collaborated with Apple to rectify the issues in 253,466 initially rejected apps, which were subsequently approved.
Apple also undertook the task of removing 186,195 apps from the App Store due to rule violations. The categories most prone to rule violations were games, followed by service, business, and educational apps.
A significant revelation in the report is the number of apps removed upon governmental request, with China leading the count. The Chinese government requested the removal of 1,435 apps, most of which were games.
During 2022, developers lodged a total of 18,412 appeals against app removals. Additionally, the report highlights the number of developer accounts terminated by Apple, totaling 428,487. Out of 3,338 developers who contested their App Store bans, only 159 accounts were reinstated.
Customer accounts were not immune to termination either. Apple announced the termination of 282,036,628 customer accounts, a figure encompassing all accounts created, including those of non-iPhone and iPad users.
Despite the high number of rejections and terminations, the App Store continued to thrive. It averaged 656,739,889 weekly visitors and 747,873,877 weekly app downloads. The report also revealed that the total number of apps on the App Store in 2022 was 1,783,232, a testament to the platform’s ongoing success.
In addition to these insights, Apple divulged that it had blocked $2.09 billion in fraudulent transactions on the platform last year. As the tech giant prepares for the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference kicking off on June 5th, the tech community eagerly awaits any further data or insights Apple may share.
This unprecedented transparency report, a part of Apple’s $100 million settlement with App Store developers in 2021, is expected to be released annually. With its wealth of information, it serves as a valuable resource for both developers and users, shedding light on the inner workings of the App Store and emphasizing Apple’s commitment to maintaining a safe, high-quality platform for apps.
