Maybe you’ve encountered the following problem: After mindlessly downloading an app that required you to set up an account, the process of deleting it was infinitely more painful. Well, Apple has finally acknowledged that app deletion should be straightforward and announced plans to enforce this change across its App Store last year at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).
The guidelines for developers can be read here but the gist of the matter is for any app that supports account creation, the process to delete one’s account should be easily available within the app’s interface. This requirement will go into effect on June 30 and will be applicable for any prospective app that is housed in the App Store.
When Apple states that account deletion should be “straightforward and transparent,” it means that the option to do so should delete the user’s account record, in addition to any personal data associated with said account.
Temporarily deactivating or disabling an account as the sole option will be deemed insufficient, which seems like the big change here, given that this sort of stopgap action tends to be common among some of the most popular apps like Instagram and Facebook. Dating apps like Hinge and Tinder, will often prompt users to hide or make their accounts invisible, when attempting to delete for good.
Good riddance —
There are some other caveats in the account deletion guidelines that seek to prevent any workarounds in place. For example, if the process requires users to visit an external website for whatever reason, a link that brings them directly to the page in question should be included. Additionally, if deleting takes more time, then users should be informed about the expected duration.
Ultimately, this update is good news and will hopefully be adopted by other major app stores moving forward. Providing individual data to create an account for a given service is always easy, the inverse of this process should be as well.
