Apple announced changes to the App Store: new Communication Rules, Small Developer Assistance Fund, and more

Apple has announced a number of changes that will be made to the App Store in response to a class action lawsuit by American developers. One of the most notable changes is that developers can now inform users of alternative payment solutions outside of their apps.

This class action lawsuit was first filed in 2019. This is not Epic's case against Apple, but a lawsuit filed against Apple by smaller developers. The App Store changes apply to all developers on the App Store in the US and other countries.

What (Hasn't) Changed

Notably, Apple claims that developers can "use means of communication, such as email, to communicate payment method information outside of their iOS app." This means that the company or developer can send emails to users with their consent to inform them about subscriptions outside of the App Store.

However, Apple has confirmed that this change does not apply to in-app communication. Developers are still prohibited from informing in-app users about pricing or subscription options available elsewhere. In theory, Netflix could have a field in its iOS app for users to enter their email address and then directly email them about payment options.

Other highlights of the settlement agreement:

• Apple and the developers have agreed to keep the App Store Small Business program in its current structure for at least the next three years.
• Search in the App Store has always been about making it easier for users to find the apps they're looking for. At the request of developers, Apple has agreed that search results will continue to be based on objective characteristics such as number of downloads, star rating, text relevance and user behavior signals. The agreement will keep the current App Store search system in place for at least the next three years.
• Apple will also expand the number of price points available to developers for subscriptions, in-app purchases and paid apps from less than 100 to more than 500. Developers will continue to set their own prices.
• Apple will retain the ability for developers to appeal app rejection based on unfair treatment, a process that continues to prove successful. Apple has agreed to add content to the App Review website to help developers understand how the appeals process works.
• Over the past few years, Apple has provided a lot of new information about the App Store on apple.com. Apple has agreed to create an annual transparency report based on this data, which will provide meaningful statistics about the app review process, including the number of apps rejected for various reasons, the number of customer and developer accounts deactivated, objective data about search queries and results, and the number of apps removed from the App Store.

Frankly, it looks like Apple has even won the lawsuit, although if you re-read the outlined items carefully, Apple is not changing anything within its ecosystem. Half the clauses state "Apple has agreed to keep for three years" something that no one was ever going to change.

There's still no discussion of downloading apps from third-party sources. The commission remains the same - from 15% to 30%. The only new point - the ability to set prices, such as $1.29 or $1.49 instead of the previous policy of changing the price in increments of one dollar, but it is absolutely unclear whether there is any demand for this in the market of applications.

In the end, by leaving pretty much everything "as it was" (except for the "official" permission for developers to communicate with users via email), Apple has gained an excellent bargaining chip for almost any future litigation on similar grounds, and looks like a winner despite the official concessions to the community.

Small Developer Relief Fund

Apple is also announcing a Small Developer Relief Fund, which will pay $250 to $30,000 to developers who earn less than $1 million per year on the App Store. Amounts will vary based on a developer's "historical participation in the App Store ecosystem." Only U.S. developers are eligible for this program.

Source: apple

Illustration: James Yarema