Apple updates its App Store Guidelines to comply with a US judge's April 30 Epic injunction, letting app developers link to external payment methods in the US
Apple has officially updated the App Store Guidelines to comply with yesterday's injunction handed down in its legal case with Epic Games.
9to5Mac Chance Miller
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the latest enforcement step in a dispute whose core remedy was established when the court barred Apple from preventing links to alternative purchase options in the original Epic injunction.
Apple had previously permitted outside-payment links while attaching a 27% commission to qualifying external transactions. The new guideline revision matters because it follows a judge’s April 30 injunction rather than a voluntary policy adjustment.
First-order effects
- US app developers can now update their App Store experiences to direct users to external payment methods under Apple’s revised guidelines.
- Apple must administer App Store rules that accommodate those links, reducing its ability to keep the payment path entirely inside its in-app purchase flow for affected US transactions.
Second-order effects
- Developers with subscription or digital-goods revenue gain a practical reason to compare external checkout conversion, payment costs, and customer ownership against Apple’s in-app purchase option.
- Payment providers and web-checkout vendors have a clearer route into iOS monetization, while Apple faces greater pressure to preserve developer value through its own payment and distribution tools.
Third-order effects
- The case strengthens court-ordered limits on platform gatekeeper control over how app businesses reach customers and collect payment.
- If similar remedies are enforced elsewhere, app-store economics could shift from a single mandatory transaction path toward competing checkout layers, though the extent depends on implementation and developer adoption.
The trend: This is one data point in the broader unbundling of app-store distribution from app-store payments under legal and regulatory pressure.
Related: Regulated platform take rate · Platform gatekeeper leverage · Apple · Epic Games · Apple revises its US App Store rules to let developers link to outside · Court issues permanent injunction in Epic vs. Apple, ruling that Apple
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Discussion
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@lazerwalker.com
Emilia
on bluesky
Apple emailing developers a list of numbered amendments to the App Store review guidelines, that begins with “you can link out to NFT websites now” is the funniest possible way to say “you no longer need to obey draconian rules when linking to web-based payment platforms” [image]
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@codybrom.com
Cody Bromley
on bluesky
New App Review Guidelines just dropped. — #AppleDeveloper #iOSDev 1/🧵 [image]
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@elkmovie
Michael Love
on bluesky
ARGs updated to allow external links - seemingly without restriction - for apps distributed in the US. [image]
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@athul.acharya.cc
Athul K. Acharya
on bluesky
lol that was quick. criminal contempt, baybee [image]
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@mackuba.eu
Kuba Suder
on bluesky
Wow, that was fast... But also, lulz, of course they applied this only to the US App Store 🫠 — #apple #appstore [image]
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@chancemiller.me
Chance Miller
on bluesky
Apple has officially updated the App Store Guidelines to comply with yesterday's injunction in the Epic Games case. — Developers are now free to include “buttons, external links, or other calls to action” to external payment options.
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@linamkhan
Lina Khan
on x
For years Apple has charged an exorbitant tax on Americans who use its App Store, while thwarting developers who want to offer lower-cost options. Apple continued these tactics even after being ordered by a judge to stop. Yesterday's decision is a long-awaited win for innovator…
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@dhh
@dhh
on x
Cook should have listened to Schiller: Give this one up, Apple. By doubling, tripling, and quadroupling down on malfeasance to save a few marginal dollars, they're torching their reputation and possibly their contempt case. Crazy. Cook has got to go.
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
Bam. As expected, Apple has immediately changed its App Store rules to exclude the United States so that only the rest of the world has to pay its ransom after US district Court sanctioned the company and referred it to the US Attorney for criminal contempt investigation.
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@dhh
@dhh
on x
Apple plays a caricature of an evil multinational company here. Instructed by a US judge to stop interfering with ways to buy outside IAP, they clearly believe that ruling doesn't apply outside the US, despite being a US company. More criminal contempt and malicious compliance.
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@rjonesy
Ryan Jones
on x
Apple just edited the App Store rules, to comply. - apps can link out - apps can encourage use of alternate payment methods That's it. The floodgates are open. [image]
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@dhh
@dhh
on x
But either way, this change is still huge. The bulk of the revenue for most developers comes from the US market. Just wild that Apple keeps fighting this losing battle, making developers lives more cumbersome, and disadvantaging users outside the US.
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@9to5mac
@9to5mac
on x
Apple updates App Store Guidelines to allow links to external payments https://9to5mac.com/... by @ChanceHMiller
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r/apple
r
on reddit
Apple Updates U.S. App Review Guidelines Following Epic Games Ruling
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r/iOSProgramming
r
on reddit
App Store Guidelines updated in response to US court order
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@tomwarren.co.uk
Tom Warren
on bluesky
Spotify is about to test Apple. It already has an iOS app update ready for the new rules Apple has to adhere to following the major ruling in Epic v. Apple. Get your popcorn ready 🍿 www.theverge.com/news/659891/ ...
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@jaypeters.net
Jay Peters
on bluesky
Spotify has already submitted an app update following yesterday's major Epic Games v. Apple ruling. Now the question is when — or if — Apple approves the update. — www.theverge.com/news/659891/ ...
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@jaypeters.net
Jay Peters
on bluesky
Following yesterday's major Epic v. Apple ruling, Patreon tells me that it will update its iOS app so that creators can accept payments outside of Apple's payments system. — www.theverge.com/news/659754/ ...
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@andyyen
Andy Yen
on x
In response to the recent court ruling in the US against Apple's illegal in-app purchase monopoly, @ProtonPrivacy will finally be allowed to let iOS users purchase subscriptions outside of the app store. No Apple tax means we will lower prices for users by up to 30%.
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@azianmike
Michael Luo
on x
Stripe 🤝iOS developers Big news iOS app developers! You can now accept payments with @stripe outside of your app, with no iOS app store commissions. The Stripe team 🧑🍳cooked up a quick guide walking you through how. Go live now! Docs in the 🧵 [video]
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@spotifynews
@spotifynews
on x
Yesterday, a U.S. federal judge ordered Apple to loosen its iron grip on its App Store rules. This consequential action will deliver significant benefits for American consumers. We just submitted a Spotify app update to Apple with certain features for our American users, [image]
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@justinkan
Justin Kan
on x
On the back of the latest Epic v Apple ruling, we are launching Stash Pay: embedded checkout for developers on iOS https://dev.stash.gg/...
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@cramforce
Malte Ubl
on x
Apple's loss of the app store payment monopoly is a great win for native apps AND brings them closer together to the open web. One huge irony is the Apple Pay™️ works blissfully inside of the Safari view spawned from your app. Perfect UX, 27% lower cost https://vercel.com/... [im…
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@eric_seufert
Eric Seufert
on x
Stripe launched functionality today to allow developers to accept web-based, linked-out payments natively on iOS. They appear to have anticipated that Apple would eventually be forced to relax its fee structure for alternative payments. [image]
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@egorka
Egor
on x
@eric_seufert This functionality has been there for years. Only the guide is new on Stripe's side. Difference between yesterday and today is that yesterday you were not supposed to link to these checkout pages from inside the app a now you will likely can, but the checkout pages …
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@eric_seufert
Eric Seufert
on x
The second-order effects of this will be fascinating to watch unfold. If developers keep more of their IAP revenue, they'll divert some proportion — for many developers, most — of that reclaimed margin back into user acquisition spending. This is a boon for the major mobile app…
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@aripap
Ari Paparo
on x
@eric_seufert Do you think web transactions will become the norm or just for the best and most sophisticated like Netflix and Spotify?
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@eric_seufert
Eric Seufert
on x
The norm. In fact, most subscription apps already drive users to the web for onboarding to try to avoid the commission. This will make that process much more straightforward and performant, and make it practical for games. It was becoming such a problem that Apple started buyi…
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@rauchg
Guillermo Rauch
on x
Freedom to access the web, without coercion or taxation, is as fundamental as freedom of speech. We're open sourcing an iOS Web Payments Starter kit, deployable to @vercel with one click, powered by @nextjs, @stripe & https://solito.dev//@expo. But there's more work to [image]
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@eric_seufert
Eric Seufert
on x
Tim Cook chose poorly I have chronicled Apple's attempts to maintain its commission on out-of-store transactions in my Apple to developers: Heads I win, tails you lose series. My argument all along has been that, if Apple is allowed to apply its significant commission on transac…
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r/technews
r
on reddit
Apple approves Spotify app update with external payments | Following the update, Spotify can freely advertise prices to US users if they subscribe outside the app.
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r/technology
r
on reddit
Apple approves Spotify app update with external payments | Following the update, Spotify can freely advertise prices to US users if they subscribe outside the app.