Apple bans 1474 apps from App Store on requests by governments! Check India's count

Apple has removed thousands of apps from the App Store at the request of governments. Here is why.

1474 apps removed from App Store in 2022 after requests from governments. (Unsplash)

Apple keeps reviewing apps that are being offered by App Store in order to maintain privacy, security, and content standards. Recently, Apple has provided a comprehensive overview of how the App Store safeguards against fraud and ensures the protection of developers and customers in the form of the "2022 App Store Transparency Report." The data shows how Apple operates the App Store in all 175 countries and regions.

Amongst the huge list of apps, Apple has removed a total of 1474 apps from its App Store as per requests from governments of several countries. This holds the maximum number of removed apps in China with a whopping number of 1435. In India, the government asked Apple to remove 14 apps from App Store, while in Pakistan government had taken down 10 apps. However, Apple specified that apps are removed only from storefronts in which the entity demanding removal has jurisdiction, and they remain available in all other storefronts.

Apple's action in 2022 for app removal from App Store

In 2022, there were a total of 18412 appeals from various agencies worldwide regarding app removals, with China leading at 5484 appeals and India contributing 709 appeals to remove apps. Apple responded to these appeals by restoring 24 apps in India. According to the report, as of 2022, the App Store hosted a total of 1,783,232 apps.

During the same year, the iPhone maker reviewed 6,101,913 app submissions and rejected 1,679,694 due to violations of App Store policies. Out of the rejected submissions, 253,466 apps were eventually approved after rejections. The total number of apps removed from the App Store in 2022 amounted to 186,195.

Here is the list of removed apps worldwide on the basis of category:

Apps removed from the App Store by app category

1. Games: 38,883

2. Utilities: 20,045

3. Business: 16,997

4. Education: 16,509

5. Lifestyle: 15,171

6. Entertainment: 11,757

7. Food & Drink: 8317

8. Productivity: 7314

9. Travel: 5510

10. Shopping: 5376