The mobile app industry is growing steadily without any signs of slowing down. Experts predict that mobile apps will generate over $673 billion by the end of 2027. Further, according to Statista, there are already 1.6 million apps available for download on the Apple App Store and 3.55 million on Google Play.
As you are reading, hundreds of thousands of new applications are awaiting publication. Based on these stats, it can be tempting to enter the dynamic and profitable industry of mobile apps.
Let's say you decided to launch a new mobile app. You raised the money, assembled the dream team, developed the product, and are ready to run a marketing campaign. At this point, you may think that you're done with the hardest part, but the blood, sweat, and tears that went into building this product will be undone if your app is rejected from the app store.
Over the years, Apple and Google have created policy documents on how apps must be developed, updated, and promoted. These requirements are meant to support the high-quality standards of both stores but can throw a few curveballs into your publishing process. Now, let's discuss the most common reasons why your app can get booted from app stores and how you can prevent your app's removal.
Malware
Apple and Google are constantly perfecting their algorithms to find applications with malicious content. You may think this wouldn’t apply to your app because you aren’t implementing illegal content, but that may not be the case.
Unfortunately, app creators may break the rules unknowingly. This is often the case when apps implement third-party code from unreliable sources that introduce disruptive ads or illegal data collection malware. An example of this was seen in 2023 when security company ESET found 17 malware-laced loan apps cropping up on popular app stores and on wilder, third-party app stores.
In 2024, security experts at Zscaler discovered over 90 malicious banking apps on the Google Play store that chalked up 5.5 million installations. These apps were injected with the Anatsa banking trojan that can steal people's e-banking credentials.
No wonder app stores have become more vigilant and flag applications with undocumented features. In 2023, the Apple App Store rejected over 1.7 million app submissions for failing to meet the App Store’s stringent standards. The App Store also terminated around 374 million developer and customer accounts and removed 152 million fake ratings and reviews. On Google Play Store, a record-breaking 2.28 million apps were rejected for policy violations in 2023, with 333,000 bad accounts blocked.
Thus, you'll need to ensure your new app isn't exposed to any malware if you want to keep it available on app stores.
Disruptive adware
Disruptive adware is advertising that almost blocks the core functionality of an app and even the device itself. This may look like an app that shows ads while a user tries to make a phone call or unlock their device.
In 2022, security experts discovered 75 applications on Google Play and another ten on Apple’s App Store engaged in fraudulent ad activity. Being installed over 13 million times, these apps flooded mobile users with ads and also generated revenue by disguising them as legitimate apps. Later, in 2023, researchers took down an expansive malvertising attack that plagued over 1,700 applications from 120 publishers and impacted roughly 11 million devices.
In 2023, 43 apps were removed from Google Play due to hidden ads malware. These apps, including, among others, TV/DMB Player, Music Downloader, News, and Calendar, secretly loaded ads while a phone's screen was off, depleting a device's battery.
In response to these attacks, Google set a new machine-learning algorithm in place to detect ads that are shown out of context, and this will review all new apps, including yours.
Clone apps and plagiarism
Not all of us can generate genius ideas from scratch. There is a saying: “Everything new is well-forgotten old.” Unfortunately, some take this saying too literally, leading them to plagiarize.
Remember, to run a successful business, you must add new valuable features to stand out among competitors. Being unique is crucial for profitability and for staying on the App Store and Google Play, as both stores prioritize apps' value and uniqueness.
For instance, if you search for a famous brand like "Mario" on Google Play, you'd be surprised at how many of the Mario apps aren't from Nintendo. Many of these apps likely infringe on Nintendo's trademark, copyright, or other intellectual rights and will be removed as a result.
In general, these types of infringements can be related to images or music, gameplay mechanics, or character and brand names. Most of these apps mean no harm to the user and are just designed to capitalize on brand recognition, but this doesn't keep them from being removed from stores.
One of the most high-profile cases in relation to plagiarism is the case of the Chinese app Zynn. Zynn is a clone of another Chinese video-sharing app TikTok.
The only difference between them is Zynn’s engagement strategy. Zynn paid different sums of money to its users for bringing their friends to the app. This strategy seems to have worked out; within the first week of release, Zynn reached the top ten most downloaded apps.
Suddenly, at the beginning of June 2020, the app was removed from Google Play and the App Store. The decision was made based on complaints from numerous TikTok users, as their TikTok accounts, including their personal data and media content, had been copied to Zynn without permission.
Currently, the investigation is ongoing. It is expected to be a long process, given the market leadership struggle between TikTok and Zynn.
ChatGPT's popularity also triggered a wave of sham applications on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. In response to this, Apple cracked down on clones and tightened its rules, now classifying impersonations as a severe violation of the store's rules. Overall, the Apple App Store took down 1,424 apps due to IP infringement, plagiarism, and spam in 2023.
Access to user data
When it comes to user data security, it’s vital to note that Apple is much stricter than Google, so you’ll need to think twice before asking for access to any kind of user data. If you have to ask, think carefully about your reason for asking and explain it to your users clearly. However, be aware that Apple or Google may decide your app functionality doesn’t need access to the requested data.
In 2021, Google announced a new Data Security section. Now, developers are required to disclose information necessary to provide the application with information about data collection and sharing and security practices.
In 2023, Google also introduced a few updates to its Play Protect, a built-in free threat detection service. Play Protect was enhanced with a real-time scanning tool that can flag malicious apps prior to downloading and installing them on Android devices.
Starting May 1, 2024, App Store Connect rejects apps that don't disclose their use of API and data use in their privacy manifest file. This enforcement of the Apple Privacy Manifest, along with a privacy information section, helps customers have more transparency and understanding about what data apps may be gathering. Further, this creates an easy-to-understand system for all apps, where this information is self-reported by the developer.
App and content value
If an app fails to deliver value or falls short of providing users with necessary functionality, it's more likely to be flagged for removal. Irrelevant content, low engagement, or subpar apps can be lumped into this category.
For instance, in 2019, BBC announced that Apple removed 181 vaping apps. Some of the removed apps allowed users to control their e-cigarette features, while others helped users stay up to date with news about vaping or offered themed games.
Apple company executives decided to remove these apps after the latest US research about the negative impact that vaping has on health was released. In this research, the CDC stated that 42 deaths and more than 2,100 lung injury cases had been linked to a respiratory illness tied to vaping.
Another example came after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Apple and Google cracked down on all the coronavirus-related applications that were not published by health organizations or governments to prevent the spread of misinformation and exploitation for financial gain.
Abandoned apps
Both platforms have a significant amount of abandoned apps, which typically refers to apps that have not been updated in two years. In Google's case, this figure amounts to 1.3 million apps, while Apple has around 496 thousand.
Google and Apple have both taken measures to deal with abandoned apps. Specifically, Google is preparing to hide those apps, making it impossible for users to download abandoned apps until they are updated by the developers.
In April 2022, Apple changed to the App Store Improvements process. As a result, apps that had not been updated within the last three years and failed to meet a minimal download threshold were identified for possible removal from the App Store. The developers of the identified apps were given 90 days to update them.
The main reason both companies are taking these measures is to protect their users’ security. Older apps don't take advantage of changes in Android and iOS, new APIs, or new development methods. As a result, older apps can have security flaws that newer apps don’t, meaning it is critical to keep your apps updated.
Restricted content
Both Apple and Google impose strict content restrictions on applications. To keep your apps in stores, make sure you avoid content that includes:
- sexual or pornographic explicit content;
- defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content;
- things that potentially endanger children;
- graphic depictions or descriptions of violence or violent threats to any person or animal;
- bullying and harassment;
- realistic portrayals of people or animals being killed, maimed, tortured, or abused;
- instructions on how to engage in violent activities like bomb or weapon-making or facilitate the purchase of firearms or ammunition;
- self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, choking games, or other acts that may result in injury or death;
- bullying and harassment;
- hate speech;
- reference to sensitive events like a disaster, atrocity, conflict, or death gambling;
- illegal activities;
- inflammatory religious commentary or inaccurate or misleading quotations of religious texts;
- inappropriate user-generated content.
Even if you are sure there is nothing to worry about when it comes to your app, Google and Apple may have another point of view. Over the last few years, there has been an increased number of complaints by Android developers, claiming that Google started to remove apps and terminated developers’ accounts for no reason.
Numerous articles on Medium and other popular platforms express outrage over the same issue. Startups and long-run applications with hundreds of thousands of downloads have suffered from unpredictable removals due to unclear content guidelines, so it is best to strictly follow the content list provided above.
Orangesoft’s case
Our team partnered with a dating app startup to develop an application for Android and iOS. The application was powered by a unique smart matching algorithm. Our client wanted to keep things simple, so we also implemented a built-in messenger and user profile management.
Initially, the app was designed to allow for different connection options, from flings to platonic friendships and professional networking.
Keeping in mind the nature of the application and the strict guidelines of Apple and Google, we carefully examined the Developer Program policies, focusing on their explicit content restrictions.
We implemented an MVP for this application and submitted it to Google Play at the end of January 2020. After a few days, the app was approved and was waiting to get published. We planned to submit an iOS version the week after and then make them both public at the same time.
But a week after the review, we got an email informing us that the app was suspended and removed from the Google Play store.
Usually, Google sends a warning email, giving developers a chance to make necessary adjustments and re-submit the app. But that wasn't the case with the dating app. A few hours later, we found out that our client's developer account was terminated without any warning.
We thought that the reviewer got the wrong idea about the app because of its provocative chat scenario titles such as “sex” and “sex&friendship.” We revisited Google's statement about inappropriate content and didn't find any mention of any specific prohibitions against sexually suggestive terms in the guidelines. What's more, our app wasn't the first to use such terms; some other applications on Google Play contained such terms as "swingers," "threesome," and "BDSM."
☝️On July 8th, 2020, Google announced an update to the Developer program policies. Among others, they added one more paragraph to the Sexual Content and Profanity section:
"Content that is lewd or profane - including but not limited to content which may contain profanity, slurs, explicit text, adult/sexual keywords in the store listing or in-app."
Now that explains why the app could have been deleted from the Play Store.
Within the following week, we sent a string of emails and appeals, but they were all met by several automated and unhelpful answers from Google. We couldn't wrap our heads around why Google decided to terminate the developer's account.
The main issue in such situations is that all emails and appeals are received and answered by Google bots. So, in this case, you have only two options:
- Write articles and posts on social media and platforms like Reddit or Medium, hoping to catch the attention of Google's review team.
- Try reaching out directly to Google's Business Development or Business Relations teams. You can search for them on LinkedIn, Facebook, or your personal network.
We chose the second option, and soon our client and the owner of the dating app managed to make a detailed appeal to the right person. A few days later, the client's developer account was unblocked.
We also removed the term “sex” and changed the chat scenarios titles. After that, our developers sent an updated .apk file for review. The submission process went without a hitch, and the app was published in both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
Related: List of alternative app stores for iOS and Android
Government request
If your application targets foreign markets, make sure to carefully study local laws along with the economic, social, cultural, and political landscape. Many governments send requests to remove apps from the stores due to legal violations. China is undoubtedly the leader on this list, and Apple is often accused of being too cooperative. Overall, Apple received 1,462 government requests to take down apps from its app store in 2023. Out of 1,285 apps China requested to remove, 1,067 were game apps without a legally required GRN license.
| Country | Apps removed |
|---|---|
| 🇨🇳 China mainland | 1,285 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 103 |
| 🇮🇳 India | 30 |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | 12 |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 8 |
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 5 |
| 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 5 |
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 2 |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | 2 |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | 2 |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | 2 |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | 2 |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | 1 |
| 🇱🇾 Libya | 1 |
| 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 1 |
| 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 1 |
To give you a better idea of how this removal reason works, let's have a closer look at how it went with China's app removal requests. The long history of removal requests began in 2017 when China deemed VPNs illegal unless they got permission to operate on the country's territory. Soon after, Apple removed more than 600 VPN apps from China's App Store.
In 2016, China established a law that required the licensing of all paid mobile games. Google Play enforced the new rule immediately, but Apple held off until February 2020, when they finally announced that all developers of mobile games with in-app purchases had to submit their licenses by June 30, 2020.
Next, at the end of February 2020, the Washington Post reported that the virus-spreading simulator with 130 million players, Plague, was no longer available on the Chinese App Store. The Plague app was also deleted at the request of the Chinese government.
According to official government data, as of June 2020, China issued only 43,104 game licenses. However, there were 60,000 mobile games listed on the China App Store, and one-third of them were still unlicensed. Zhu Qinan, an analyst at Zhongtai Securities, said: “Our sampling shows that among the 200 top-grossing games in China's app store, about 10% are unlicensed. The top 200 games contribute to over 80% of the App Store game revenue.”
“It takes four to eight months to get a game license, and [the government] only issued a total of 1,572 game licenses in 2019,” said Rich Bishop, AppInChina CEO. “This means that the vast majority of the 21,563 paid games or games with in-app purchases on the Apple App Store [in] China won't be able to get a game license for several years, let alone by June 30, 2020.”
During the first half of 2021, another 123 applications were removed from the App Store. Apple provided two official reasons for these removals, including platform violations and legal violations, which likely mean illegal gambling and pornographic content, respectively, as both are illegal in China. In 2022, Apple received 1,474 government requests to take down apps from its app store.
Given all that, you'll want to ensure your app complies with the local laws. This way, you can understand how to best prepare your app and avoid removals by government requests.
Pre-publish checklist
Before you publish your application, we recommend running it using the following pre-publish checklist. This checklist was curated by our developers, who have a track record of publishing over 200 apps on app stores.
Conclusion
After an exhausting and exciting process of product development, you are one step away from your customers. Before you launch, remember these quick tips:
- Make sure your app complies with App Store Review Guidelines and Google Developer Program Policies.
- Think of all possible pitfalls and develop contingency plans for various scenarios.
- Think twice and don't forget to breathe.
You are prepared now. We hope that your application will soon be available for download on the App Store and Google Play.
