In a bid to fight the problem of copycat and impersonating apps, Apple has overhauled its App Store Review Guidelines policies. Among other App Store changes is the ability to report inappropriate or age-inappropriate ads in apps that contain ads. On the sidelines of its annual WWDC conference, Apple made changes to its App Store Review Guidelines.
According to the tech giant’s revised guidelines, developers should not copy another app’s code or user interface, or have a name that is similar to another popular app on the App Store.
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“Submitting apps which impersonate other apps or services is considered a violation of the Developer Code of Conduct and may result in removal from the Apple Developer Program,” Apple wrote in a blog post.
According to the new section in the guidelines, “Come up with your own ideas. We know you have them, so make yours come to life. Don’t simply copy the latest popular app on the App Store, or make some minor changes to another app’s name or UI and pass it off as your own.”
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“In addition to risking an intellectual property infringement claim, it makes the App Store harder to navigate and just isn’t fair to your fellow developers,” the section added.
It should be noted that many copycat apps (similar to viral AI chatbot ChatGPT) were added to the App Store and also on the official Google Play Store.
Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook has recently expressed his excitement about OpenAI’s ChatGPT and said that he uses it. This comes amid reports that Apple has limited its employees’ access to ChatGPT due to concerns surrounding privacy.