A class-action lawsuit filed by developers against Apple has resulted in the Cupertino giant making a few changes to its App Store policies. Chief among these alterations is the new ability for developers to email users about being able to make payments outside of their iOS app. This would provide developers with more flexibility in setting their app prices.
This class-action lawsuit in question was filed by the group of developers back in 2019. The settlement from Apple has also resulted in a $100 million payout to those that make less than $1 million.
Prior to this lawsuit, developers were not allowed to contact users in any way, according to App Store policies. However, a change was introduced back in June this year that allowed communication outside their apps as long as it wasn’t about alternate payment methods
And now, Apple’s statement has clearly stated, “To give developers even more flexibility to reach their customers, Apple is also clarifying that developers can use communications, such as email, to share information about payment methods outside of their iOS app.”
Another issue that has been addressed through this wave of changes is that of the strict app review process. Developers have been complaining for long about Apple’s lack of transparency regarding the matter and the company has finally responded with changes.
The company will now release an “annual transparency report” featuring “meaningful statistics about the app review process, including the number of apps rejected for different reasons, the number of customer and developer accounts deactivated, objective data regarding search queries and results, and the number of apps removed from the App Store.”
This settlement from Apple has definitely been influenced by the high-profile Epic vs. Apple trial, the results of which are about to come out. Policies preventing developers from conveying to users about alternative payment methods was a major issue in the trial.