Apple Inc. now says it gets more than 26,000 apps submitted to
its iPhone and iPad app store every week -- or about 1.3 million a
year.
The pace of application submissions has grown substantially since
Apple launched its mobile app store in 2008. In mid-2009, Apple
told the Federal Communications Commission it was receiving 8,500
submissions every week, and as recently as 2010, that number was up
to 15,000 -- still only half of what the company says it is getting
now.
But Apple also says it now rejects close to 30 percent of
submitted apps for failing to adhere to its developer guidelines.
Many of the rejected submissions are later sent in again with
fixes, the company said.
Apple trumpeted a bold finding last month, that the "App economy"
its iPhone engendered had created 466,000 jobs, directly or
indirectly. That claim was met with some skepticism, but few have
questioned the burst of software development activity that Apple's
mobile devices set off.
The latest app submission statistic was buried in Apple's
response, published Wednesday, to privacy questions from Reps.
Henry Waxman, D-California, and G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C. The
company was explaining that it vets its apps in an effort to make
sure developers are not misusing smartphone users' personal
information.
"Apple has an unwavering commitment to giving our customers clear
and transparent notice, choice, and control over their personal
information," the company said in its letter, dated March 2.
The company's explanation of its data protection practices were
evidently not satisfactory to the legislators, who sent a second
letter requesting an in-person briefing with an Apple
representative to further explain Apple's approach to privacy.
