App Store

At the end of last year, Apple announced that it was expanding App Store search ads beyond the single promoted placement at the top of the results. Instead, developer paying for promotion in App Store search can now have their apps appear further down the search results list, mixed in with the usual stream of organic results.

Apple has now confirmed that this will go into effect beginning March 3, starting the UK and Japan, with a rollout across all Apple Ads markets by the end of the month.

As spotted by TechCrunch, Danish users are turning to iOS apps to help them boycott American products. Here are the details.

Sensor Tower has published its annual report, offering insights, trends, and data on the global mobile app market. Here are the main takeaways.

An effort led by security research lab CovertLabs is actively uncovering troves of (mostly) AI-related App Store apps that leak and expose user data, including names, emails, and chat history. Here are the details.

Apple is testing a new design for App Store search ads on iPhone. Some users on iOS 26.3 are noticing that the blue background around sponsored results is no longer shown, blurring the line between what paid ad results look like and the real search results that follow.

This means the only differentiator between organic results and the promoted ad is the presence of the small ‘Ad’ banner next to the app icon. Right now, it appears to be in some kind of A/B test phase.

Hours after a coalition of digital rights, child safety, and women’s rights organizations asked Apple to “take immediate action” against X and Grok AI, xAI confirmed that Grok will no longer edit “images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis,” with significant carve-outs. Here are the details.

Appfigures’ annual report on the app economy shows that app downloads declined in 2025 compared to 2024, even as estimated gross revenue surged to a record high. Here are the details.

It may sound morbid, but China’s new top paid App Store app—Are You Dead?—is spiking in popularity among iPhone users who live alone. Here are the details.

In a new press release today, Apple is celebrating the success of its services division throughout 2025. The company says that 2025 was a “record-breaking year for Apple services,” with milestones for Apple Music, Apple TV, and more.

Three U.S. Senators have asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to temporarily remove X and Grok from the App Store due to “sickening content generation” in recent days.

Roblox, one of the most popular kids’ apps in the world, is now requiring children as young as nine years old to submit a video selfie for age verification. Update: Following a partial launch in December of last year, the requirement is now being rolled out globally. The company says you will see the update within the next week.

While the developer is doing this for good reasons, it adds further weight to the argument that Apple and Google, rather than individual app developers, should be responsible for age verification …

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When Apple dropped App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompts in iOS 14.5 back in 2021, it was a watershed moment for user privacy within third-party applications. Nothing like it had existed prior. The initiative gave iPhone users control over whether their in-app data could be aggregated and shared with third parties for advertising or other purposes.

Still, today, I often find comments online from people who don’t really know what it does and find the wording very taboo. Like, why “Ask” the app? And is it still effective? Let’s briefly look at App Tracking Transparency in 2025…

Apple is trying to overturn a ruling that found it overcharged millions of UK customers through App Store commissions. Here are the details.

Apple is expanding the number of ads that appear in App Store search results. In an update on its Apple Ads website today, the company detailed that it will introduce more ads “to increase opportunity in search results” starting next year.

To comply with the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), Apple has announced a set of major changes to the App Store and iPhone in Japan. The changes include new app distribution options for developers and new alternative payment rules for the App Store.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was yesterday spotted in Washington, D.C. during a visit to lobby against a proposed App Store age verification policy.

But the very argument the company uses to oppose the proposal is in fact the strongest argument in favour of it …

On the heels of unveiling the App Store Awards winners last week, Apple today unveiled the most downloaded apps and games of the year in the United States. This year, the most downloaded free iPhone app was ChatGPT, while the top paid iPhone app was HotSchedules.

Meanwhile, the top free iPhone game was Block Blast!, while the top paid iPhone game was Minecraft: Dream it, Build it.

Head below for the full list of the top iPhone and iPad apps and games of 2025.

Apple has been accused of breaking the law by failing to comply with US sanctions after the App Store was found to have contain dozens of apps from sanctioned companies. The same was true of Google, though at a smaller scale.

The banned apps were identified by the Tech Transparency Project, which says it demonstrates that Apple failed to live up to its promises that the App Store represents a safe and trusted source …

In preparation for a law that will prohibit Australians under 16 from having social media accounts, Apple is highlighting the App Store tools that developers can use to ensure their apps comply. Here are the details.

After announcing the finalists last month, Apple today officially announced the winners of the 2025 App Store Awards. This year, the App Store Awards recognize 17 apps and games for their “technical ingenuity and lasting cultural impact.”

The winners were selected by App Store Editors for “demonstrating exceptional innovation, user experience, and design.”

Apple is facing hundreds of millions of euros in damages claims over its allegedly “excessive” App Store fees. Here are the details.