Apple announces new App Store rules amid its lawsuit with Epic Games

Dimapur, August 27 (EMN): Apple has just announced a number of changes to its App Store rules amid the ongoing court battle against Fortnite creator, Epic Games.

The new changes to its App Store policies were announced by Apple today in a press release related to a different lawsuit that the company was involved in.

On its official blog, Apple wrote, “Apple today announced a number of changes coming to the App Store that, pending court approval, will resolve a class-action suit from US developers. The terms of the agreement will help make the App Store an even better business opportunity for developers while maintaining the safe and trusted marketplace users love.”

The major takeaway from the updated App Store rules is that Apple will now allow developers to “share purchase options with users outside of their iOS app,” meaning developers can now keep 100 per cent of the revenue generated from payments made outside Apple’s ecosystem.

Here are all the changes that Apple made to its App Store rules:

• There will not be any change to the App Store Small Business Program (Businesses earning less than $1 million annually through the App Store will pay a reduced commission as usual). Apple and developers have reached an agreement to maintain the program in its current structure for at least the next three years.
• Apple has agreed with requests to continue with the current App Store Search results based on “objective characteristics like downloads, star ratings, text relevance, and user behaviour signals.”
• Apple has confirmed that from now on developers will not pay Apple a commission on any purchases taking place outside of their app or the App Store. Developers are free to use communications, such as email, to share information with their users about payment methods outside of their iOS app.
• Apple will also expand the number of price points available to developers for subscriptions, in-app purchases, and paid apps from fewer than 100 to more than 500. Developers will continue to set their own prices.
• Developers can appeal the rejection of an app based on perceived unfair treatment. Apple will add new content to their App Review website to help developers navigate how the appeals process works.
• Apple has agreed to share an annual transparency report with meaningful data such as app review process, including the number of apps rejected for different reasons, the number of customer and developer accounts deactivated, objective data regarding search queries and results, and the number of apps removed from the App Store.
• In a bid to contribute to the fight against Covid-19, Apple will establish a fund to assist small US developers. Eligible developers must have earned $1 million or less through the US storefront for all of their apps in every calendar year in which the developers had an account between June 4, 2015, and April 26, 2021 — encompassing 99 per cent of developers in the US.