Heads up, mobile devs: Apple has changed its App Store submission guidelines

Apple has reworked and updated its App Store Review Guidelines, in some cases altering the rules that developers are expected to adhere to when submitting apps to the digital storefront.

While the bulk of the the changes seem to revolve around rewording existing guidelines, there are a handful of notable changes developers will want to be made aware of ahead of their next app submission.

Some of those changes deal with the recently added ability for developers to respond directly to user reviews, such as guidelines that state developers should keep comments respectful and avoid putting personal information and marketing spiels in their responses.

But on the more technical side of its review changes, the guidelines now note that developers should use the Apple-provided API to prompt in-app user reviews, as it is now disallowing custom review prompts in App Store apps.

Apple has been in the process of clearing unsupported and outdated apps from the App Store for some time now, and that process is now represented its submission guideline changes. Going forward, developers will only be able to submit apps that run on the current version of a given platform’s OS.

It also warns developers that apps need to be kept up to date with each OS update and that depreciated features, frameworks, and technology must be phased out in said updates to avoid letting apps slip into the up-for-removal, unsupported app territory.

The updated App Store Review Guidelines are already live on Apple’s developer portal, while a comprehensive look at the changes, including section-by-section breakdowns of the new and old guidelines, can be found over on iClarified.