The App Store is removing apps on a large scale. Why are chess and card games the focus of scrutiny?

App Store removes large-scale board games from Apps and makes them the focus of review

It is reported that the number of game apps removed from the App Store has increased dramatically recently. Among them, more than 20,000 apps were removed from the App Store on June 15, of which games accounted for more than 50%. On June 14, the number of apps removed from the shelves was 2,363, of which 347 were games. On June 13, the number of apps removed from the shelves was 3,298, of which 403 were games. This is a concentrated cleanup of the charts by Apple, involving many apps. It is reported that. Many developers who had their products removed from the App Store received emails from Apple, which indicated that Apple believed the developers had violated Section 3.2 (f) of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, i.e., had engaged in dishonest behavior, such as ranking manipulation , fake software packages, etc.

In addition, App Annie statistics show that among the products released by Boyaa Interactive's developer account "Boyaa" on the App Store and Google Play , 112 board games have been removed from the shelves. Among them are Chinese versions of games such as "Stand-Alone Sichuan Happy Mahjong", "Chinese Chess", "Sichuan Chess and Cards", etc., as well as Thai, Traditional Chinese, Japanese and other versions of many chess and card games. It is reported that this is the first time that a large-scale board game has been removed from the App Store.

Judging from media reports and data from third-party platforms, the main reasons for the mass removal of apps from the Apple platform this time are gambling, ranking manipulation, and fake packages. Based on Apple’s recently released “2017 App Store Review Guidelines” and combined with daily experience in handling App Store complaints, we will classify the issues of gambling, ranking manipulation, and fake packages from the perspective of App Store review.

Gambling/Betting

Gambling is prohibited by law in most countries in the world. Even those countries and regions that allow gambling have adopted very strict management and methods for gambling. The Internet age allows gambling to be spread in the form of online games. Therefore, the laws of various countries have very strict management of chess and card games. Various platforms have adopted very strict management measures for the chess and card games on the shelves, with the aim of avoiding legal problems. Apple's regulations on gambling in its review guidelines are as follows:

5.3 Games, gambling and lotteries

Games, gambling, and lotteries are difficult to regulate and are one of the most regulated app categories on the App Store. This feature should only be included after you have fully verified the legal requirements of all countries where your app will be released, and the review process for this feature will take longer to prepare. Here are some things to keep in mind:

5.3.1 Sweepstakes and competitions must be sponsored by the App developer.

5.3.2 The official rules for sweepstakes, contests, and raffles must be stated in the App and must clearly indicate that Apple is not a sponsor or involved in the activity in any way.

5.3.3 Apps may not use IAP to purchase points or currency for any kind of real money game; may not sell lottery or raffle tickets to users; or transfer funds within the app.

5.3.4 Apps that offer real money games (such as sports betting, poker, casino games, horse racing) or lotteries must obtain the necessary licenses and approvals in the regions where the app is used and may only be released in those regions. Such apps must be available free of charge on the App Store. Illegal gambling aids , including card counters, are not allowed on the App Store. Lottery apps must have rewards, odds, and prizes.

We can see that in addition to the strict review procedures, Articles 5.3.3 and 5.3.4 specifically stipulate the issues between real currency and virtual currency. Apple prohibits the use of real currency for game bets through IAP within the App, and also prohibits various game auxiliary tools. The purpose is to prevent games from becoming gambling, thereby bringing legal risks to the App Store platform.

Although Apple has introduced the above-mentioned review standards before, there are still many gambling/betting apps that skirt the rules and are launched on the App Store. However, as Apple becomes more and more familiar with the domestic environment and the routines of domestic games, the difficulty of launching chess and card games on the App Store may be greatly increased in the future.

Ranking

The problem of ranking manipulation is an old problem of the App Store. Apple has always hated chart manipulation, and its policy has always been to crack down on it and remove apps from the shelves immediately once discovered. Of course, due to the limitations of review efficiency, the chart manipulation industry still exists. The recent cancellation of the best-selling list in the App Store has, to a certain extent, played a role in cutting off the source of the chart manipulation behavior, and Apple is also paying attention to the problem of chart manipulation. Corresponding to the provisions in the Audit Guidelines:

3. Business

If we discover that you have attempted to manipulate reviews to improve rankings through payment, incentives, filter or fake feedback, or ask a third-party service to do so on your behalf, we will take appropriate action to preserve the integrity of the App Store, which may include removal from the Apple Developer Program.

Vest bag

Vest packages are also an old problem in the App Store. The so-called vest package is a method of taking advantage of loopholes in App store rules and using technical means to list the same product multiple times. The so-called vest package refers to a package that has the same content and functions as the main product package. Except for the icon and application name, everything else is basically the same. The purpose of manufacturers making vest bags often includes the following categories:

1. Testing. For many companies, it is inconvenient to use the main App for testing. Vest App can be changed at will. If the test result is good, it will lead to the main App.

2. Cover more keywords . As we all know, an App keyword can only cover 120 characters. Therefore, if you make one more app, you can cover more characters.

3. Brush the rankings. Although ranking manipulation is cost-effective, it is risky. If an app is removed from the shelves by Apple, the impact will be extremely bad. But it’s different with a vest. If it fails, it fails. You can just make another one. When the vest reaches a very good position, it will have users, and with users it will generate value. Because users are using your products and contributing orders to you.

4. Channel . Now that your account has traffic , it is equivalent to having one more channel. You can choose to direct traffic to yourself and cooperate with others in exchange for traffic .

It can be said that vest packages are a behavior of occupying the market by disguising a large number of identical products. According to Apple's rules, an App can only be uploaded once, which corresponds to the provisions of the " Apple Review Guidelines":

4.3 Spam Apps

Please do not create multiple package IDs for the same app. If your app has different versions for specific locations, sports teams, universities, etc., consider submitting a single app and offering in-app purchases to provide the differentiated functionality. Also, avoid developing in categories that are already overcrowded with similar apps; the App Store already has too many apps that simulate fart and burp sounds, as well as flashlight and Kama Sutra apps. Developers who upload a large number of similar versions of apps will be removed from the Apple Developer Program.

Conclusion

The above three problems are common problems in the App Store and are also the main reasons for the recent removal of apps . But as the saying goes, the devil is always one step ahead of the saint. Domestic developers have many tricks to deal with it, which I will not elaborate on here.

It is recommended that developers should file a complaint in a timely manner when facing these removal notices, provide relevant evidence, and ask Apple to stop punishing you. At the same time, developers should use multiple accounts to upload and reduce the impact between apps under the same account.

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