AppStoreReviewGuidelines
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Apple updates App Store Review Guidelines with new rules on kids, gambling apps
Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines, which explains to developers what an app may and may not do. Though the updated Guidelines have many small changes, the two sections that saw the biggest revisions were for apps aimed at gamblers and children. Gambling apps that offer real money gaming may not offer players credit via in-app purchases. Also, all gambling games must be free. From the new Guidelines: 20.5 Apps that offer real money gaming (e.g. sports betting, poker, casino games, horse racing) must have necessary licensing and permissions in the locations where the App is used, must be restricted to those locations, and must be free on the App Store 20.6 Apps that use IAP to purchase credit or currency to use in conjunction with real money gaming will be rejected Guidelines for children's apps have been revised to more closely comply with the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) as well as Apple's push to make iTunes Store accounts available to those under 13 in iOS 7. COPPA has always restricted developers from collecting a minor's name, address and telephone number, but now the law also says it's illegal for developers to collect data like photographs, video and audio. 17.3 Apps may ask for date of birth (or use other age-gating mechanisms) only for the purpose of complying with applicable children's privacy statutes, but must include some useful functionality or entertainment value regardless of the user's age 17.4 Apps that collect, transmit, or have the capability to share personal information (e.g. name, address, email, location, photos, videos, drawings, persistent identifiers, the ability to chat, or other personal data) from a minor must comply with applicable children's privacy statutes. Other changes to apps aimed at children now include restrictions on behavioral advertising (ads based on user activities within an app); all children's apps must contain a privacy policy; and all children's apps must explicitly ask for parental permission before the user can make in-app purchases or "engage in commerce."
Hulu adheres to Apple's revised in-app subscription rules, others to fall in line?
A mere eleven days have passed since Apple relaxed its in-app subscription rules, and now All Things D has stumbled upon screenshots of the first major subscription program to comply. A forthcoming update to the Hulu Plus iOS app will nix all references that previously pointed towards Hulu's own website for signing up new users, allowing Hulu to skirt around implementing Apple's in-app subscription mechanism (and the thirty percent cut that goes along with it). That said, it'll also kill Hulu's opportunity to easily inform folks of where to pony up for Hulu Plus, but we suspect the added friction is worth losing a few eyes instead of buoying Cupertino's warchest. Seeing as there's under a fortnight until Apple's new rules come into effect, we certainly wouldn't recommend betting against a slew of similarly-positioned apps to follow suit.
Apple gives in to publishers, changes policy on in-app subscription prices
It looks like Apple has decided to make some pretty major changes to its App Store Review Guidelines -- and, in particular, to its controversial in-app subscription policy. Under the new guidelines, publishers will be able to offer subscriptions to content outside of the App Store, as long as their apps don't include a "buy" button that directs users away from Apple's marketplace. Under the previous version of the policy, which was set to go into effect at the end of this month, app owners offering subscriptions outside of App Store were required to sell equivalent, in-app services at the "same price or less than it is offered outside the app," while giving a 30 percent cut to Cupertino. Now, however, they can price these in-app subscriptions as they see fit, or circumvent the system altogether, by exclusively selling them outside of their apps. Apple will still receive 30 percent of the revenue generated from in-app subscriptions, but won't get any money from purchases made outside of its domain. Theoretically, then, publishers would be able to offer in-app subscriptions at higher prices, in order to offset Apple's share. This is how the new rules are worded: 11.13 Apps that link to external mechanisms for purchases or subscriptions to be used in the app, such as a "buy" button that goes to a web site to purchase a digital book, will be rejected 11.14 Apps can read or play approved content (specifically magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video) that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app, as long as there is no button or external link in the app to purchase the approved content. Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues for approved content that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app. It's important to note, though, that Apple hasn't made any changes to its policy on sharing user information. Publishers had been lobbying to gain access to subscribers' credit card data and other personal information, which they see as critical to applying a TV Everywhere model to online publishing. With today's concessions, though, these demands may become less insistent.
Apple's Mac App Store Review Guidelines posted -- will Photoshop make it in?
No surprise that Apple's new Mac App Store has a similar set of rules and regulations as the iPhone App Store, and we just got the full list. There's nothing here that's too different from the iPhone review guidelines, but it all seems terribly odd when applied to a regular computer, and some of the more restrictive policies have already drawn ire from developers like Mozilla's Director of Firefox Mike Beltzner, who says the restriction against beta code won't work well with the Mozilla "open beta" development process. That's definitely a valid criticism, especially if the Mac App Store becomes the dominant way for Mac users to get apps, but there's a crucial difference here: unlike the iPhone, Macs can run software from any source, not just the App Store. That means apps that don't meet Apple's Store guidelines can still be freely used by any Mac user without going through jailbreak hoops, and we think that's an ideal compromise: it allows Apple to control much of the Mac experience, since developers will have a huge incentive to comply with the review guidelines and get into the store, but still allows other types of apps and utilities to flourish -- including, say Firefox betas. (We might have written an editorial arguing for exactly this approach on the iPhone in the past, come to think about it.) So with that said, let's examine Apple's Mac App Store Review Guidelines, which were just posted yesterday -- you can grab the PDF here and read the whole thing, but we're just going to break out the parts that seem more interesting or different than what we've seen in the past. Our biggest takeaway? Interpreted on their face, some of these rules would mean major Mac apps like Adobe Creative Suite 5 and Microsoft Office won't be in the Mac App Store, and that's obviously a problem. Read on to see what we mean.
Apple's App Store Review Guidelines: 'we don't need any more fart apps'
Apple definitely surprised us this morning by relaxing its restrictions on third-party iOS development tools and publishing its app review guidelines, but that's nothing compared to the almost shockingly blunt tone of the guidelines themselves. Grab the PDF for yourselves at the source link now and check out the highlights after the break.
