Apple Plans Another Tweak to Its Strict App Store Rules

Apple said on Wednesday that it was adjusting its App Store policies to allow certain kinds of applications to do business more directly with their customers.

Under the change, so-called reader apps, which include Netflix and Spotify, will be permitted to include a link within their apps to direct users to set up or manage their accounts on the individual company’s website, rather than through the App Store.

That would let those companies avoid paying the traditional 30 percent fee that Apple charges when people make payments for things like subscriptions on the App Store. Apple had long prevented companies from steering their users to their own websites, which would have deprived it of that 30 percent cut. These reader apps “provide previously purchased content or content subscriptions for digital magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music and video,” according to the company.

Apple said the change related to an agreement with the Japanese Fair Trade Commission, which had been investigating the tech giant’s App Store policies.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/technology/apple-app-store-spotify.html