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,...

The Arizona House of Representatives today passed HB2005, a state bill that would provide developers with an alternative to Google and Apple's in-app purchase options by allowing developers to use their own payment solutions within apps. Last week, the Arizona House Committee advanced the bill, and now it has also been approved by the House of Representatives. It will next be heard by the...

Arizona is considering legislation that would prevent developers from being forced to use Apple's in-app purchase options, and as the bill heads to the Arizona Senate, Apple and Google are lobbying heavily against it. As outlined by Protocol, Apple has been working against the bill since last month. Apple lobbyist Rob Didiron began fighting the legislation before it had been formally...

After neglecting the app for several months, Google today finally updated Gmail on the App Store for the first time in exactly three months. Today's update, version 6.0.210124, says it includes "Bug fixes and performance improvements," but it is a notable update given it's the first one the app has seen in months. Alongside Gmail, Google Meet, Google Sheets, Google Docs, Google Calander,...

After North Dakota tried and failed to pass legislation that would have paved the way for third-party App Store options, Minnesota and Arizona have introduced new bills that would loosen Apple's control over ‌App Store‌ developers. A Minnesota bill shared by Star Tribune would force Apple and Google to keep products from Minnesotan developers on their app stores even if those developers sell ...

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, or ACM for short, is reportedly nearing a draft decision in its investigation into Apple over rules that require developers to use its in-app payment system, which charges commissions of between 15% and 30%. According to Reuters, the ACM revealed that the draft decision was nearing completion in letters sent this month to some of the...

Apple today informed developers that it has introduced additional guidance for App Store privacy labels, a feature that Apple has been requiring for all apps since December. Apple says that rules surrounding data types like email, text messages, and gameplay content have been expanded to make it easier for developers to understand and comply with requirements.Additional details have been...

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating complaints from developers over Apple's "Sign in with Apple" option, reports The Information. Introduced in iOS 13, Sign in with Apple is a privacy-focused login option that lets users opt to sign in to an app with their Apple ID, without the need to create a username or share an email address with developers. Apple requires all App Store...

Clubhouse, the online audio app that has become a social sensation, has reportedly surpassed eight million iOS App Store downloads, according to data from App Annie (via TechCrunch). The app, best described as a place to hold public group FaceTime-like audio calls, is currently iOS exclusive, although an Android counterpart is in the works. The app requires users to be invited to the app...

If you've logged into the App Store this morning and have noticed that there's no update button next to apps that you want to update, you're not alone. There appears to be an ‌App Store‌ bug that is preventing the "Update" button that's normally displayed alongside apps from being visible, preventing apps from being updated one by one. The update button bug seems to come and go, and not...

Microsoft has begun testing its game streaming service, xCloud, on the web via a browser for iOS and iPadOS, and on PC via Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, The Verge reports. Microsoft's xCloud service allows subscribers to play games by streaming them from the cloud, instead of having to download the entire game locally on-device. Apple and Microsoft had a brief moment of contention in...

Google today finally updated its YouTube iOS app for the first time in over two months, becoming one of the highest-profile Google apps to see an update since early December when Apple began requiring that developers disclose privacy practices for each of their apps in order to have their updates approved. Most of Google's apps have yet to be updated since the requirement went into effect,...

Consumer spending on the top 100 non-game subscription-based apps across mobile platforms grew 34% year-on-year from $9.7 billion in 2019 to $13 billion in 2020, according to a new report by analytics firm Sensor Tower. According to the data, revenue from subscription apps purchased on the App Store and the Google Play Store represented around 11.7% of the $111 billion that consumers spent...

Though Google has promised to update its suite of apps with App Privacy labels to comply with App Store rules that Apple began enforcing in December, many of its major apps have gone months without an update and still list no privacy information. It's been so long since Google last updated the Gmail app, in fact, that Gmail now displays a warning that the latest security features are...

The North Dakota Senate this week introduced a new bill that would prevent Apple and Google from requiring developers to use their respective app stores and payment methods, paving the way for alternative app store options, reports The Bismarck Tribune. According to Senator Kyle Davison, who introduced Senate Bill 2333 yesterday, the legislation is designed to "level the playing field" for...

Apple today informed developers about some upcoming pricing changes for apps and in-app purchases in Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Germany, and South Korea, with Apple introducing a new VAT in some countries and adjusting pricing in others. Apple says that when taxes or foreign exchange rates change, prices on the App Store in certain regions and some proceeds need to be adjusted. In Zimbabwe and...

In a wide-ranging interview with CNN Business, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, says that his company spent months preparing its lawsuit against Apple, which is internally codenamed "Project Liberty." Epic launched an all-out assault against Apple after it removed Fortnite from the App Store in August after the app implemented a direct payment method for in-app purchases. App Store policy...

Apple has apologized to the developer of an app meant to promote the Indigenous language Sm'algyax after he was falsely accused of dishonest and fraudulent acts, and as a result, had the app removed from the App Store. Brendan Eshom, a member of the Ts'msyen First Nation community, developed and published "Sm'algyax Word" on both Google Play and the ‌App Store‌ this past July. The app serves ...

The problem of scam iOS apps has dogged Apple's App Store for some years now, but over last two weeks the developer Kosta Eleftheriou has taken to Twitter to highlight that the problem remains as big as ever in at least some app categories – and also offered iOS users a way to spot them. Taking blatant rip-offs of his own popular FlickType Apple Watch keyboard app as an example of how...

Last month, Apple introduced privacy labels on the App Store, providing users with a broad overview of the data types an app may collect, and whether the information is used to track them or is linked to their identity or device. Apple has required developers to provide this privacy information when submitting new apps and app updates to the App Store since early December, but the labels...

Apple executive emails revealed in the Epic Games vs. Apple lawsuit highlight how the company came to its conclusion to take a 30% cut on all App Store transactions in a way that ensured it wasn't "leaving money on the table." One email thread from 2011, spotted by The Verge, features Apple services chief Eddy Cue discussing the commission that the company should charge providers for content ...