The first antitrust ruling on the legality of Apple’s App Store arrangements could be close. Dutch competition watchdogs have told developers they can expect a decision soon.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is considering two issues…
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Following the launch of the new App Store privacy labels in December last year, Apple today published additional guidance for developers to better understand the information required for App Store privacy labels.
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The vaccination against COVID-19 has started in several countries around the world, and we have already seen some apps that let users prove that they have taken the vaccine with just their iPhones. Now Apple is tightening the App Store rules to ensure that apps offering proof of vaccination are only submitted by health authorities.
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Last week we heard Apple’s take on a new North Dakota Senate bill that would have forced the company to allow iPhone owners to sideload apps and use alternative in-app payment options. Just today, the state’s senate has voted down the proposal but similar legislation is under consideration in Arizona and Georgia. It’s also come to light where the North Dakota bill draft legislation came from – a Coalition for App Fairness lobbyist.
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Over the last few weeks, developer Kosta Eleftheriou has been sharing details on how scam apps game Apple’s App Store, sometimes raking in millions of dollars and lasting for months or in some cases years. Apple has this month taken down some of the scams that have been brought to light. However, today Kosta shared his existing deep concerns about the state of App Store ratings and how they’re abused by scams.
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The Shadow cloud gaming service saw its app removed from the App Store in March 2020, before access was restored in May. Apple has now again removed the app.
The reason for the latest removal isn’t yet known…
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A new analytics report has revealed the highest-grossing subscription apps on iOS for 2020. YouTube Premium heads the list, which allows subscribers to watch videos without ads, download them for offline viewing, and also includes access to YouTube Music Premium.
The top 10 list unsurprisingly features four other streaming video services …
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At the end of January, we saw a report from The Washington Post call attention to the recently launched app privacy labels for Apple’s App Store. The small-scale study showed more than half the third-party apps’ self-submitted privacy labels were completely false or at least misleading. Now the US House Committee on Energy & Commerce is urging Apple to “improve the validity of its App Privacy labels” along with asking for more specifics on the system.
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Over the last several weeks, developer Kosta Eleftheriou has been highlighting many apparent scam applications on the App Store. The formula for each scam application is virtually identical, and it centers on fake reviews and ratings paired with a deceptive weekly subscription.
Update February 11, 2021: Apple has given the following statement to The Verge regarding scam apps on the App Store.
Expand Expanding CloseWe take feedback regarding fraudulent activity seriously, and investigate and take action on each report. The App Store is designed to be a safe and trusted place for users to get apps, and a great opportunity for developers to be successful.We do not tolerate fraudulent activity on the App Store, and have stringent rules against apps and developers who attempt to cheat the system. In 2020 alone, we terminated over half a million developer accounts for fraud, and removed over 60 million user reviews that were considered spam. As part of our ongoing efforts to maintain the integrity of our platform, our Discovery Fraud team actively works to remove these kinds of violations, and is constantly improving their process along the way.
A new bill in the North Dakota Senate could force Apple to allow iPhone owners to sideload applications and use alternative payment systems in-app. The wide-reaching bill would bar companies like Apple and Google from mandating that developers only use their app stores and payments systems.
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Apple shared an update today on its Developer site with the latest tax and price changes for the App Store coming to four countries including Germany and South Korea. There’s also an update coming for the Apple Push Notification service server certificate.
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As part of the iOS 14.5 beta, it appears Apple is testing new ways to monetize the App Store. Building on the existing App Store Search Ads program, users are now seeing a new sponsored ad slot appearing on the Search tab as a “suggested” item.
Previously, Apple only showed ads in the App Store when users searched for an app with advertisers bidding on keywords, similar to Google Search ads. This new ad type is naturally more prominent as it displays to the user before they search anything at all.
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Apple today updated its App Store Review Guidelines with some changes that will impact app developers. The company has clarified more details about the game streaming platforms, besides the use of the “Rosetta” brand in the description of the apps and the prohibition of apps that promote illicit substances.
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If you’ve happened to scroll through Twitter, Reddit… or nearly any news feed in recent days, you’ve probably seen a lot of mentions of stocks. More specifically stocks with keywords like Gamestop, AMC, r/wallstreetbets, and Robinhood. We will spare you the backstory and what a “short squeeze” is, but all of this controversy surrounding the stock market and the Robinhood App in particular has gotten many people intrigued. You yourself may have recently pondered the thought of purchasing some stock of your own. Either way, here are five stock trading apps currently available for iPhone to help get your portfolio rollin’.
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There’s been a lot of attention drawn to App Store privacy labels since they went live in December. Apple made them mandatory for developers submitting new apps or updating new ones. Facebook Messenger came under particular fire for the sheer volume of data linked to users.
But spot-checks by the Washington Post found that more than half the apps they reviewed were either misleading or completely false …
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The ongoing trading freeze related to Robinhood and stocks such as GameStop and AMC continues to extend to Apple’s App Store today. As we reported earlier this morning, Robinhood made the controversial decision to ban trades of GME, KOSS, and other Reddit-backed stocks.
Now, affected Robinhood users are calling on Apple to remove Robinhood from the App Store — and accusing the company of censoring negative Robinhood reviews on the App Store.
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In honor of Data Privacy Day on January 28, Apple has announced that its App Tracking Transparency feature will launch to users “in early spring.” The company has also launched a new easy-to-understand report dubbed “A Day in the Life of Your Data,” which illustrates “how companies track user data across websites and apps.”
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At Build 2020, Microsoft’s annual developer conference, the company announced a new service called Microsoft Lists. Today, the app has been made available to download from the App Store.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook will appear on Fox News Sunday this weekend with Chris Wallace, the network announced today. During the interview, Cook will talk about Apple’s decision to remove Parler from the App Store, as well as the broad idea of “big tech restricting free speech.”
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Epic Games is doubling down on its legal battle with Apple in the UK. As first reported by Bloomberg, Epic has made a new filing in the UK slamming Apple for its decision to remove Fortnite from the App Store, saying that the company is abusing its “dominant position” in the market.
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Games are a fundamental part of the App Store and the iOS ecosystem, which is why Apple keeps highlighting how the iPhone and iPad are great gaming devices. A new research from AppFigures shows that Among Us was the most downloaded mobile game during the holidays, leading the ranking in December 2020.
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The Parler app is non-functional, and parler.com has gone offline, as Amazon Web Services discontinued service to the company. Both the website and the app relied on AWS for content distribution.
The social network was set up after Twitter started clamping down on disinformation and hate speech. However, both Apple and Google dropped the apps after it was revealed that Parler was used to help plan the attempted coup at the Capitol, and was being used to plan a second armed attack in DC ahead of the inauguration …
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Earlier this week, Apple touted that the App Store had another record holiday season, bringing in $540 million on New Year’s Day alone. A new analysis from CNBC today offers more details on Apple’s App Store in 2020, estimating that it grossed more than $64 billion in 2020.
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Apple has announced today that App Store customers spent a record amount throughout the holiday season. Apple says that in total, the App Store has generated more than $200 billion for developers since the App Store launch in 2008.
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