App Store

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Earlier today, it was reported that Google hasn’t updated any of its iOS apps since December 7, a day before Apple required developers to provide a privacy report for every app available on the App Store. However, Google has now said it will update its iOS apps with privacy details beginning this week.

Apple’s new app privacy labels went live in the App Store last month, giving users the chance to see what data is collected by each. We then explained how to view them.

All apps are required to show what data is used to track you, and what data is linked to your identity. Looking at that more comprehensive category reveals some stark differences between four popular messaging apps…

Assassin’s Creed Identity and NBA 2K20 were among 46,000 iOS apps removed from the App Store in China as Apple purged all remaining apps without a government license.

The vast majority of the apps removed were games, with only 74 of the top 1,500 paid games surviving the cull…

2020 saw a record App Store spend as coronavirus lockdowns saw people forced to seek more at-home entertainment, according to analytics data. With less time spent with family, and fewer entertainment options outside the home, more time has been spent using apps.

The holidays alone have seen consumers so far spend an estimated $407M on iOS and Android apps, some 34% up on the same period in 2019 …

While 2020 was all about social distancing and staying at home, there was a controversial app promoting secret private parties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, the iOS app was removed from the App Store this week.

We reported yesterday that eligible developers were notified by Apple about the App Store Small Business Program going live imminently. According to some developers, Apple is already charging a lower commission on App Store sales.

Apple is in the process of purging “thousands of video game apps” from the App Store, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. This comes as China cracks down on unlicensed games in the country, but the removals extend beyond the gaming category in some cases.