App Store

Apple used to limit the size of App Store downloads over cellular to 150MBs to prevent iPhone users from accidentally downloading a large app over 3G or 4G networks and using up all their data allowance or running up data charges. In May 2019, Apple upped the limit of over-the-air downloads to 200MB, but offered no way to opt out of the limit at the time, leaving users with unlimited data...

It used to be the case that adding funds to your Apple ID required redeeming an iTunes Gift Card bought from a store, but Apple now lets you use a debit or credit card right on your iPhone or iPad to do the same thing. Adding funds to your Apple ID allows you to make purchases from the iTunes Store, iBooks Store, and App Store on any of your Apple devices. It's easy to add funds to your...

If you recently updated your iPhone to iOS 13 or your iPad to iPadOS 13 and you can't work out how to manually update your installed apps, then you've come to the right place. Apple has changed the way you update apps in iOS. In earlier versions of its mobile operating system, app updates lived in their own tab in the App Store app, but that has since had to make way for a new Apple Arcade...

Several TV and music services and other apps offer free trials through the App Store that automatically renew to become paid subscriptions after the trial period ends. If you want to prevent an App Store subscription from running beyond the trial period or cancel a subscription you're currently paying for, then read on. This article explains how to cancel any App Store subscription on iOS,...

Apple has restored Russian apps for social network VKontakte and webmail provider Mail.ru to the App Store, three weeks after removing them and other VK-owned apps in response to UK sanctions (via The Guardian). The two services, which could be described as home-grown versions of Facebook and Gmail, were pulled following a package of sanctions enacted by the British government that affected...

Apple is today beginning to implement App Store pricing increases across all territories and countries that use the euro, with the hike attributed to the euro's weakness against the U.S. dollar. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, whose company is currently embroiled in a legal battle with Apple, spoke up on the price update and said Apple had no justification for it. In a statement, Sweeney likened ...

Apple's South Korean headquarters have been raided by antitrust regulators after a complaint was raised by developers that it is charging them over the standard 30% App Store commission rate. The dawn raid by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) was reported by local media on Monday and covered on Friday by the Foss Patents blog, highlighting the ongoing investigation in the country into...

Apple has removed from the App Store all iOS apps belonging to Russian technology conglomerate VK, a move Apple says is in response to the latest round of UK sanctions on Russian oligarchs. "These apps are being distributed by developers majority-owned or majority-controlled by one or more parties sanctioned by the UK government," said Apple spokesperson Adam Dema in a statement given to The...

Security researchers discovered 10 "adware" apps on the App Store that were engaging in ad fraud, according to a report from Bleeping Computer. The apps were designed to generate revenue by impersonating legitimate apps and presenting a deluge of ads to iPhone users. Discovered by HUMAN's Satori Threat Intelligence team, the mobile apps are part of an ad fraud campaign they're calling...

Apple has listed two new apps on the App Store that are made exclusively for the Apple Watch Ultra: "Siren" and "Depth." Siren is designed for emergency situations if users become lost or injured to draw attention to their location. When the Action button on Apple Watch Ultra is long-pressed, Siren emits a unique 86-decibel sound pattern which can be heard up to 600 feet (180 meters) away. ...

Apple today announced that, as early as October 5, prices of App Store apps and in-app purchases will increase in all countries and territories that use the euro. The increases are the result of the euro's weakness against the U.S. dollar currently. Prices of apps and in-app purchases will also increase in Chile, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, and Vietnam,...

The United States Justice Department is in the early stages of crafting an antitrust complaint against Apple, reports Politico. A source that spoke to the site described the lawsuit as "potential," indicating that the DOJ's plans are not yet finalized. Prosecutors within the DOJ are said to be "assembling the pieces" for a lawsuit that could be filed by the end of the year, but the decision...

Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, is lashing out against Apple over the company's "obscure" App Store review process that is delaying Telegram from releasing an update to its app that will "revolutionize how people express themselves in messaging." In his Telegram channel, Durov says that an update to Telegram for iOS that will change how people communicate has been stuck in Apple's ‌App Store‌...

Apple has removed an app that it was unknowingly hosting on the App Store that scammed Facebook advertisers and led hackers to use advertisers' ad budgets to run possibly malicious ads on Facebook's platforms, Business Insider reports. The app previously ranked highly on the ‌App Store‌ when searching for "Facebook ads manager," the app used by advertisers to control their presence and ads...

Apple today announced it is expanding its offering of how developers can promote their apps on the App Store, helping developers expand their reach and making it easier to discover more of what the ‌App Store‌ has to offer. Until now, Apple has offered developers two ad opportunities on the ‌App Store‌: in the Search tab and within the Search results page. Both ad placements have been a...

Apple's App Store is now coming under the spotlight for how it handles fake crypto apps that scam investors who think they're investing in real, legitimate cryptocurrencies. In a letter addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the chairman of the U.S. Senate on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Sherrod Brown, inquires about the steps Apple takes in vetting, reviewing, and removing crypto apps...

Apple has informed App Store developers in South Korea that they can now begin offering users alternative payment systems in their apps. The change comes after the country passed a law that bans app store operators from requiring developers to use their own in-app purchase systems. Apple's developer update on apps distributed in South Korea begins with Apple saying that the ‌App Store‌ was...

Following a months-long saga, the competition regulator in the Netherlands has finally accepted concessions by Apple to allow dating apps in the App Store to use alternative payment methods (via Reuters). On Friday, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) released an update stating that "Apple now complies with the rules" regarding dating apps' ability to let their customers pay in...

Apple today announced further changes to its App Store rules for dating apps in the Netherlands in an attempt to comply with requirements put in place by the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). Apple says that after "productive conversations" with the ACM, it is making the following updates:- Developers of dating apps in the Netherlands can use the StoreKit External Purchase...

The UK's competition watchdog seeks to "remedy" Apple's restrictions on browser engines in iOS and cloud gaming through the App Store via a high-level regulatory process, the organization announced today. The announcement comes upon the publication of the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) year-long study into Apple and Google's mobile ecosystems, which finds that Apple and Google have ...

Back in August 2021, Apple agreed to pay $100 million and make changes to the App Store to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against it by developers. Judge Yvonne-Gonzalez Rogers, who is overseeing the case, said yesterday that she plans to approve the settlement, but she raised concerns about the amount that attorneys are planning to charge. As outlined by Law360, Rogers said that she...

The App Store prevented 1.6 million risky and untrustworthy apps from defrauding users in 2021, according to new fraud analysis data shared today by Apple. Apple says that the ‌App Store‌ stopped "nearly $1.5 billion in fraudulent transactions" during the year. Apple rejected more than 34,000 apps for hidden features, and more than 157,000 that were spam or copycat apps. 343,000 apps were...

Senator Amy Klobuchar last night introduced a revised version [PDF] of the American Choice and Innovation Act, as the U.S. government continues to work toward legislation that targets major tech companies and that would mandate sideloading on the iPhone. There are few changes to the bill that would alleviate Apple's concerns about it, and the Cupertino company provided a statement to MacRumor...

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has called Apple's App Store, which has helped app makers earn over $260 billion since its launch, a "disservice to developers" that forces them to treat their apps as "sub-par." Sweeney made the comments in an exclusive interview with the Financial Times, where he repeated ‌Epic Games‌' previous talking points about Apple and how it is "anti-competitive" and...