Today, Apple made a pretty large update to its App Store review guidelines, some of which are noteworthy in their own right.
The new review guidelines cover a variety of topics, including features that were first introduced with iOS 13 last year, rules for push notifications, Mobile Device Management, app compatibility with Apple’s hardware, and much more. The company also notes that 77 percent of all the iOS Apple-branded devices shipped in the last four years are running iOS 13.
Apple makes a note of this so developers know they should be updating their apps to support the latest software and features.
The App Store is dedicated to the best store experience for everyone. To continue providing a safe experience for users and help you successfully develop apps that are secure, high-quality, reliable, and that respect user privacy, the App Store Review Guidelines have been updated. The changes impact replies to reviews, spam, push notifications, Sign in with Apple, data collection and storage, mobile device management, and more.
To start with, Apple says that beginning April 30, 2020, all new apps and updates for existing apps will be required to be built with the iOS 13 SDK. With this change, app developers will be able to support ARKit 3, Core ML 3, dark mode, among other features. Developers must update their apps to support all current-generation Apple devices, too, including the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Apple is getting a bit more strict when it comes to “fortune-telling apps”, and even dating apps in general. Apple’s new review guidelines say the company will reject apps unless they “provide a unique, high-quality experience“.
And when it comes to push notifications, Apple says that developers can now support marketing purposes — basically advertisements. However, developers must also make it possible for users to easily opt out of that kind of advertisements.
For applications that offer additional sign-in options, like Sign in with Facebook or Google, they must also offer the Sign in with Apple feature as well. That rule will be implemented as of April 30 of this year. Apple is including new resources for developers to properly install the feature in their app(s).
If you feel curious, you can check out Apple’s review guidelines for the App Store right here.
What do you think of these changes?