You updated your app. You shipped fixes. You added a feature. And yet your App Store listing looks exactly like it did the day you launched.

That is a problem. Not just for rankings, but under Apple’s updated 2026 guidelines, for your app’s continued presence in the store.

At WWDC26, Apple updated section 4.3(b) of its App Store Review Guidelines to explicitly allow removal of apps that “are not updated, improved, or do not attract customers.” This language applies to already-published apps, not just new submissions. If you have a live app, your metadata is now part of an ongoing evaluation, not a one-time gate you already passed.

Your title, subtitle, keywords, screenshots, and description are Apple’s primary signals for whether your app is actively maintained or quietly abandoned. This post walks through six concrete checks every indie developer should run right now.

1. Your keyword field has not been updated in 90 or more days

The 100-character keyword field is invisible to users but critical to your App Store search coverage. Apple uses it to determine which search queries your app is eligible to appear for. It also happens to be the metadata field that gets neglected most often after launch.

A keyword field that has not been revisited in three or more months is working against you for several reasons:

  • Terms you ranked for last quarter may have slipped as competitor keyword fields evolved
  • Your field may still reflect your app’s original positioning rather than your current feature set
  • You may be duplicating your app name or subtitle, wasting characters Apple already indexes at higher weight

The check: Count your keyword field characters in App Store Connect. If you are under 90, you have unused indexing capacity. If any term appears word-for-word in your app name or subtitle, remove it from the field.

2. Your subtitle describes the app you launched, not the app you have now

The subtitle is 30 characters. Apple indexes it at higher weight than the keyword field, and users see it directly in search results. Most indie devs write a subtitle at launch and never change it.

If your app has added a meaningful feature or shifted its primary use case since launch, a subtitle that still describes the v1 experience is doing two things at once: misaligning with users searching for your current functionality, and signaling to Apple that nothing material has changed.

The check: Read your subtitle out loud. Does it describe what someone downloading the app today will get? If not, rewrite it before your next metadata push.

3. Your screenshots show an older version of the app

Screenshots are the most visible part of your metadata and the most time-intensive to update. They are also what App Store search users look at before deciding whether to tap through. Screenshots that show an outdated UI, a deprecated feature, or a design system from several iOS generations ago send a clear signal: this app was submitted and forgotten.

More practically, screenshots are the primary driver of conversion rate from search impressions to installs. An install rate that falls below category benchmarks is a direct risk factor under Apple’s “does not attract customers” criterion. Low install conversion directly reduces the signal that your app is attracting users.

The check: Compare your screenshots to your current app UI. If there are visible mismatches — outdated flows, wrong navigation, missing features — update them. Use every available screenshot slot. Each empty slot is unused conversion surface.

4. Your promotional text has not changed in months

The promotional text field (170 characters) is the one field that does not require a new binary submission to update. You can change it any time directly in App Store Connect.

This makes it the fastest lever you have to reflect a new feature, a seasonal positioning update, or a response to current conditions. And yet most apps leave it blank or unchanged for long stretches. An empty or outdated promotional text field is a missed opportunity to tell both users and Apple that the app is actively maintained.

The check: Log into App Store Connect and read your promotional text. If it is blank or more than 60 days old, update it today. No build required. No review cycle. It goes live immediately.

5. Your rating average or review count is a liability

Apple’s revised guidelines target apps that “do not attract customers.” Rating count and average score are the most publicly visible proxy for whether users find real value in an app. An app sitting at 3.1 stars with four reviews is not just a conversion problem. It is a retention and engagement signal that factors into how Apple evaluates ongoing value.

Ratings are a lagging indicator. You cannot manufacture them overnight. But you can influence them structurally:

  • Trigger the native rating prompt after a meaningful in-app action, not on cold launch. Users who just completed something valuable are far more likely to rate positively.
  • Respond to every negative review within 48 hours. Public responses signal maintenance to future users and demonstrate that someone is paying attention.
  • If your current ratings backlog is dominated by old low scores, a meaningful update resets your review period baseline, letting you build from a fresh starting point.

The check: Pull your current rating average and total review count. If you are below 4.0 with fewer than 50 reviews, ratings are an active liability in both conversion and Apple’s engagement signals.

6. Your last meaningful update was more than four months ago

“Meaningful” is Apple’s own word in the guidelines. A patch that fixes a single layout bug is maintenance. A release that adds a feature users requested, addresses a pattern of negative feedback, or materially improves a core workflow is meaningful. Apple has not published a formal threshold, but the intent is clear: active development history demonstrates an app is not abandoned.

Apps with no significant update in six or more months are the most vulnerable under the new guidelines. The update history is visible in the App Store, and it is one of the clearest signals Apple has for distinguishing maintained apps from dormant ones.

The check: Look at your last five release notes. If the most recent substantive entry is more than four months old, scope a meaningful update this quarter. Not for marketing purposes. For defensibility.

What to do with the audit results

If you flagged two or more of the six checks above, you have structural metadata vulnerabilities that make your app more exposed under Apple’s new guidelines.

The good news: most of these fixes are operational, not technical. Updating your keyword field, subtitle, and promotional text require no new binary. Refreshing screenshots and submitting a new build with release notes can be done without shipping new features.

Start with the promotional text today. It costs nothing and takes ten minutes.

Work toward the rest in the next update cycle. The goal is not perfection on launch. The goal is to demonstrate consistent maintenance over time.

ASO fundamentals are the best defense

Every check on this audit maps to what ASO measures. An app with strong ASO fundamentals, current metadata, high keyword coverage, strong screenshots, and an active update history is not just safer from removal. It ranks better, converts better, and grows faster.

Marteso’s ASO Score Checker evaluates your app across these same dimensions: keyword field coverage, screenshot slot utilization, subtitle clarity, ratings, and update recency. It surfaces exactly where your listing is exposed before Apple flags it.

Run your audit at marteso.com/aso-score-checker.