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,...

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...

Package tracking app Deliveries is losing functionality because shipping companies are not willing to provide the shipping data that the app needs to work, according to developer Mike Piontek. In a blog post penned earlier this week, Piontek said that Deliveries is no longer able to maintain the same service that it used to provide because it relies on shipping companies, and "without their...

Apple today shared a new App Store study that it commissioned from economists at Analysis Group, with the report highlighting the success of third-party developers on the App Store. The study comes as Apple is facing concerns about the prioritization and dominance of its apps on the ‌App Store‌ as well as regulatory pressure to open up iOS to sideloading and alternate app store options....

Apple has recently implemented several changes to the App Store that allow for outside payment options and linking to external websites for purchase purposes. As part of these changes, Apple in iOS 15.5 is adding support for and warnings about external purchases. Code for external purchase support was discovered by 9to5Mac in the iOS 15.5 beta, which came out yesterday. The site says that...

Apple appears to be testing a new feature that would allow developers to automatically charge users when a subscription price goes up, according to TechCrunch. Right now, Apple asks customers to explicitly agree to subscription pricing increases when the cost of a subscription goes up. If a customer does not tap on the presented "Agree to New Price" button, their subscription is...

Apple today informed developers of "reader" apps that they are able to sign up for access to an "External Link Account Entitlement" that will allow the app to offer a link to a website so users can create or manage an account outside of the App Store. Reader apps are able to link to a website that is owned or maintained by the developer for account signups. So, for example, an app like...

Apple today announced that developers of dating apps on the App Store in the Netherlands that use an alternative payments system no longer need to create and use a separate binary. This change allows these developers to accept alternative payments in their existing dating apps, but only in the Netherlands and on devices running iOS or iPadOS. Apple also announced two other changes that apply ...

Apple is facing a new multibillion-euro lawsuit out of The Netherlands that alleges the company overcharges users who purchase apps and in-app subscriptions through the App Store and accuses Apple of partaking in "market dominance" and "anti-competitive practices." The foundation spearheading the lawsuit is the Consumer Competition Claims Foundation, which describes itself as "an independent ...

Apple today was fined another €5 million ($5.5 million) in the Netherlands by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) as the company has failed to adequately comply with mandated alternate payment system requirements for dating apps. The rules went into effect in January, and since then, Apple has received a €5 million fine each week. This is the 10th fine, for a total of 50...

Apple is facing yet another €5 million ($5.5 million) fine in the Netherlands for failing to sufficiently meet recently mandated alternative payment system requirements for dating apps, reports Reuters. Apple has been fined €45 million ($49.5 million) by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to date, with Apple racking up a new fine each week. The ACM initially said that it...

The European Union is set to introduce new legislation as soon as this month that would significantly affect how the App Store operates in Europe, reports The Wall Street Journal. The Digital Markets Act has been in development for some time and the finalized version that could be completed as soon as this month will allow for sideloading and alternate app store options. Apple will be...

iPhones.ru is reporting that iTunes and App Store purchases can no longer be made by Apple device users located in Russia, leaving them unable to pay for apps, media, or Apple services. According to the Russia-based site, it is now impossible for users to add funds to their ‌App Store‌ or iTunes Store accounts using regional bank cards issued by Russian banks including Alfa-Bank, Sber, and...

Amid an ongoing dispute with the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) in the Netherlands over the App Store, Apple has defended its plan to require app developers to submit an additional app binary for the Dutch storefront if they wish to use a third-party payment processing method. The ACM has ruled that Apple must allow dating apps in the Netherlands to use third-party payment...

Consumer spending on the top 100 non-game subscription-based apps across mobile platforms grew 41% year-on-year to $18.3 billion in 2021, up from 13 billion in 2020, according to a new report from analytics firm Sensor Tower. According to the data, revenue from subscription apps purchased on the App Store and the Google Play Store represented around 14% of the $131.6 billion that consumers...

Apple would rather pay a maximum of €50 million in fines than address concerns brought forward by the Dutch competition authority regarding developer access to third-party payment methods on the App Store, the EU's head of digital policy, Margrethe Vestager, has said. During a speech about the digital economy and privacy (via TechCrunch), Vestager said that Apple "essentially prefers paying...

Dutch regulators have levied another fine of €5 million against Apple in a continued dispute over alternative payment systems for dating apps. Apple's total fines have now reached €25 million as regulators assess weekly fines up to a total of €50 million or until Apple satisfies the regulatory requirements. In a statement shared with TechCrunch, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM)...

Apps that copy concepts and features from other apps are nothing new in the ‌App Store‌, but scammy like-for-like clones of genuine apps remain a perennial problem that Apple still hasn't resolved, as indie developer Kevin Archer recently discovered. Archer is responsible for 2Stable's Authenticator App, a feature-rich app that stores and generates secure two-factor authentication tokens...

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) today fined Apple an additional five million euros for allegedly failing to satisfy the requirements it set regarding alternative payment systems for dating apps. This is the fourth consecutive week that the ACM has fined Apple, with the total penalty now standing at 20 million euros. In a press release, the ACM said that Apple's...

The Netherlands' Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has fined Apple five million euros for a third consecutive week for allegedly failing to satisfy the requirements it set regarding alternative payment systems for dating apps, according to Reuters. The ACM today said it has still not received enough information from Apple to assess whether Apple has properly complied with the order,...