Photo Credit: Srijan Mohan
Apple has unveiled significant changes to its App Store policies in the European Union, responding to regulatory pressure from the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
The company was recently fined €500 million for its anti-competitive practices in the EU, prompting the change. These changes are effective immediately and will impact how developers can promote, sell, and distribute apps and digital goods within the EU on the App Store.
Developers can now promote offers for digital goods and services across all channels, not just their own websites. This includes external websites, other apps, and alternative app marketplaces. In-app promotions can now use native UI or in-app web views to display. The previous limit of a single static URL for external offers has also been lifted, so developers can use multiple links with tracking parameters and redirects now allowed.
Developers are also free to overall their design interface for external links and promotions within the app—previously Apple was very strict about where and when the external link could be displayed. Perhaps the most significant change is that Apple’s required ‘scare sheet’ (a warning about external links) will now only appear the first time a user interacts with the link. A setting will also allow users to opt out of seeing it for future interactions within the same app.
Apple’s New Fee Structure for EU Developers
Initial Acquisition Fee:
- A 2% fee applies to digital goods and services sold to new users within the first six months after they download an app. This fee is waived for developers in the Small Business Program and for existing users.
Store Services Fee (Tier 1):
- A 5% fee covers basic App Store services such as distribution, trust and safety, and app management. The tier does not include features like app updates, reviews, or promotional tools.
Store Service Fee (Tier 2):
- A 13% fee (10% for Small Business) grants access to the current full suite of App Store services including updates, reviews, and promotional tools.
Core Technology Fee:
- A charge of €0.50 per install applies for annual installs over one million. The fee is relevant for apps that opt into Apple’s alternative business terms.
Core Technology Commission:
- A 5% commission is placed on sales made via alternative payment methods for apps using standard terms an external payment links. That’s down from the initial 27% fee Apple attempted to levy on outside transactions.
Apple says these changes and fee structure are a direct response to EU regulatory demands and the threat of further fines should the company not comply. The company disagrees with the European Commission’s requirements and plans to appeal them, but for now these policies have been implemented to avoid further massive fines.
