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 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...

Apple today shared details on developer studies sourced from economists at Analysis Group (commissioned by Apple) and the Progressive Policy Group, with the reports aimed at highlighting the successes of small businesses and independent developers on the App Store. Between 2019 and 2021, earnings for small developers increased by 113 percent, outpacing the growth of larger developers,...

Apple today reminded developers that all apps that support account creation need to have functionality for account deletion starting on June 30, 2022. That means if an app allows a person to sign up for an account, there must be an in-app way to delete said account later on. The account deletion rule was implemented as part of App Store changes that were introduced in June 2021, and Apple...

Apple today informed developers that it is implementing a new subscription feature that will allow customers to be charged automatically when an app's subscription price goes up, which is not the way that subscriptions work at the current time. Right now, customers must explicitly agree to a pricing change when the cost of a subscription increases through an "Agree to New Price" interface....

Starting with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Apple introduced a new "Personalized Ads" toggle during the setup process that makes it easier for users to turn off personalized ads in Apple apps such as the App Store, Apple News, and Stocks. In a presentation shared with advertisers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple cited internal data showing that, in the first quarter of 2022, 78% of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 ...

Apple Music appears to be affected by a bug that is causing the app to install itself directly into the dock when downloaded from the App Store, with the app even replacing other first and third-party apps located in the dock. There have been several complaints about the problem on Twitter from users who downloaded ‌Apple Music‌ and then had it replace another app. Kevin Archer, for example, ...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk today took to Twitter to once again criticize Apple's App Store fees, calling the cut that Apple takes from developers "definitely not ok" and likening it to a "30% tax on the internet." He went on to say that the fee is "literally 10 times higher than it should be." Apple takes a 30 percent cut from app developers who make over $1 million through the ‌App Store‌ on an ...

The competition regulator in the Netherlands today announced that Apple's rules surrounding Dutch dating apps remain insufficient. In a statement obtained by journalist Nando Kasteleijn, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) said that while Apple eliminating its requirement for Dutch dating apps to create a separate app binary in order to accept alternative payments was an...

Late last week, controversy erupted after Apple began notifying some developers that their apps that had not been updated in some time would be removed from the App Store as part of an "‌App Store‌ Improvements" project to clean up "outdated" apps. Many of the affected developers objected to Apple's policy, noting that their apps continued to function just fine despite a lack of updates,...

Worldwide App Store downloads grew 2.4 percent to hit 8.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022, according to data shared today by Sensor Tower (via TechCrunch). Between the ‌App Store‌ and the Google Play store, there were 36.9 billion total app downloads, an increase of 1.4 percent. As there are far more Android users than iPhone users, there were a much higher number of apps downloaded on...

Apple today reminded developers that they can submit a claim for the Small Developer Assistance Fund, a pool of money that Apple is providing to developers as part of a $100 million class-action lawsuit settlement over its App Store policies. Apple has been accepting submissions since January, and is today reminding developers have until May 20 to make a claim through the Small Developer...

Apple Music is experiencing an outage at the current time, and according to Apple's System Status page, some users may experience intermittent issues with the service. A number of Apple device owners are not able to use ‌Apple Music‌ at the current time, and there are many complaints on Twitter and other social networks about the outage. Apple updated the System Status page to reflect an...

Apple appears to be removing a large number of apps from the App Store that have not been updated for "a significant amount of time" (via The Verge). According to an "App Improvement Notice" email sent to affected developers, Apple is removing apps that have "not been updated in a significant amount of time" unless developers issue an update within 30 days: This app has not been updated for...

As noted on Twitter, privacy labels for apps on the App Store on both iOS and macOS have mysteriously disappeared, and the reason remains unclear. All other functions of the ‌App Store‌ appear to remain online, and Apple's system status page indicates no issues with any services at the time of writing. Apple's ‌App Store‌ privacy labels aim to give users insight into what information an app...

A leaked version of the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) indicates that Apple could be forced to make major changes to the App Store, Messages, FaceTime, third-party browsers, and Siri. According to a leaked working document intended to reflect the "final" version of the DMA, seen by MacRumors, the EU is planning to enact changes that seek to have a significant impact on the way...