Content Policy

Version 2026-10-07 · Last updated October 7, 2026

Every item on the store is rated for the youngest age it suits. Most of the store is for everyone; items rated 16+ or 18+ are hidden unless an adult turns them on in their account on the store, and the app installs and runs only what fits the user’s age. This policy says how to rate an item, what can’t be published at any rating, what every item must do, and what happens when something breaks it. It applies to everything on the store (the items, their listings, creator names) and, for illegal content, to the cloud space.

Age ratings

Choose the youngest age your item suits, as on the App Store:

• 4+ Nothing anyone could object to.
• 9+ Occasional cartoon or fantasy violence, mild scary moments, mild crude humor.
• 13+ Frequent cartoon or fantasy violence, occasional realistic violence, horror themes, mild references to alcohol, tobacco or drugs, mild suggestive themes.
• 16+ Frequent realistic violence, intense horror, drug use, strong language, suggestive themes without nudity, simulated gambling.
• 18+ Graphic violence and gore, and nudity that isn’t sexually explicit.

• Above 4+, say why (violence, blood, horror, language, alcohol and drugs, suggestive themes, nudity, simulated gambling): the reasons are shown on the item’s page. For 16+ and 18+, also tell the reviewer what the item shows; only creators who are 18 or older can publish them.
• The rating is for everything the item can show, including what changes over time or comes from the network. When in doubt, choose the higher one.
• Reviewers can change a rating, and you’ll be told why. Rating an item lower than it should be is against this policy.

Not allowed

• Sexual content. No sexually explicit content, or content made mainly to arouse, at any rating; nudity only at 18+, suggestive themes only at 13+ and above. Nothing sexual involving minors or characters who look like minors, and no intimate images of real people. Child sexual abuse material is never allowed anywhere, including the cloud space: we remove it, close the account and report it to the authorities.
• Violence and self-harm. Violence and gore only within the item’s rating, and nothing that promotes violence, cruelty or self-harm, or shows how to hurt oneself, at any rating.
• Hate and harassment. Nothing that attacks or demeans people for who they are, threatens or bullies anyone, or shares someone’s personal information.
• Illegal and dangerous things. Nothing that’s illegal where it’s offered or that promotes illegal drugs, weapons or terrorism. No real-money gambling; simulated gambling only at 16+ and above.
• Other people’s work. Only publish what you made or have the rights to. Mark licensed and openly licensed work as such, with its source or license; don’t re-upload someone else’s item.
• Deception. Don’t pretend to be another creator, a brand, DesktopEngine or macOS. No fake system dialogs, alerts or sign-in prompts, nothing that asks for passwords or payment details, and no misleading titles, descriptions or screenshots.

How items must behave

• Do what the listing says. No hidden features, and nothing that changes what it does after review.
• Respect the people who install it. No tracking, analytics that identify people, ads, crypto mining, or collecting data the item doesn’t need. Network access only to the domains declared in the manifest, for the stated purpose.
• Be light. A wallpaper runs all day: don’t draw when nothing changes, and keep the frame rate and CPU use reasonable. Items that use a lot of energy show it on the store, and wasteful ones can be rejected.
• Work. It should start, keep running without errors, and look like its screenshots on a typical Mac.
• Don’t get around the limits. No attempts to escape what the app lets mini programs do, to read other content’s data, or to hide code from review.

Listings

• Titles, descriptions, tags and screenshots describe the item truthfully, without keyword stuffing.
• Titles, descriptions, tags and icons suit everyone, whatever the item’s rating. Screenshots may show what the rating allows: the store shows 16+ and 18+ items only to people who turned them on, and blurs 18+ pictures until they’re clicked.
• Mark items made with generative AI.
• Creator names and avatars follow this policy too.

What happens

• A version or listing that breaks this policy is rejected, with the reason.
• An item with a wrong rating is rated again; doing it on purpose, or again and again, is treated as breaking this policy.
• A published item can be removed from the store, or revoked if it’s harmful (it then stops running on every Mac). Serious or repeated problems can end an account’s publishing, or the account.
• Anyone can report an item from its page, including a wrong age rating; copyright owners can send a copyright notice. We review reports and tell the reporter what came of them when they leave an email address.
• If you think a decision is wrong, reply to the email that told you about it.