Apple is tweaking its App Store rules in the EU after regulators charged the company with breaking the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in June. At first glance, the updated rules appear to give developers more freedom when linking to outside purchases — but a restrictive new fee structure will force developers to pay Apple a commission for sales made across any platform, not just iOS, for as long as they include outside links.
Starting this fall, all developers in the EU will be able to include links that lead to purchases outside their apps. The updated rules will let developers tell their users about offers on the web, on another app store, or otherwise “at a destination of their choice.” It allows developers to include as many links as they want and gives users an option to disable in-app scare screens.
But using the feature comes with fees so steep that it’s hard to imagine any developer using it. Once a developer adds external links, Apple places a new “store services fee” on the sale of digital goods and services that occur within one year from the date the user installs the app — on any platform, even if the user never actually clicks the external link. This could potentially include purchases made on an alternative app store or a developer’s website from any type of device, such as a Windows computer. And if the user reinstalls or updates the app, the clock restarts. The fee is 20 percent for apps only offered through the App Store; apps that add support for third-party app stores pay 10 percent, though they’ll face other associated fees.
On top of that, Apple is implementing a 5 percent “initial acquisition fee” on digital goods and services purchased “on any platform” within one year after a user first installs the app. Altogether, that means Apple can take up to a 25 percent commission on purchases made within one year of installation, including off-platform subscriptions and autorenewals. Developers in Apple’s small business program and those who charge for “qualifying” autorenew subscriptions of more than a year’s time will face lower fees. The fees also don’t apply to subscriptions or autorenewals purchased before the app is downloaded.
“Apple’s terms make it completely uneconomical for developers to distribute their apps through both the Apple App Store and competing iOS app stores,” Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, said in a post on X discussing the new rules.
Apple said the fees reflect the expansive value its app store provides. The initial acquisition fee “reflects the value the App Store provides when connecting developers with customers in the EU,” while the store services fee “reflects the ongoing services and capabilities that Apple provides developers.”
Outside of the EU, Apple charges up to a 30 percent commission on in-app purchases. Apple also has strict rules about links to external purchase options, such as requiring developers to follow specific formatting guidelines, show external links only once, and display a notification (or “scare screen”) to warn users they’re leaving the app. All of this is part of the reason Spotify doesn’t sell audiobooks within its iOS app.
The new fee structure comes as Apple attempts to avoid further action from the EU. In June, regulators charged the company with violating the DMA’s rules against antisteering, or preventing developers from pointing users to cheaper purchase options outside the App Store. The EU also fined Apple €1.84 billion (about $2 billion) for preventing music streaming apps like Spotify from displaying cheaper subscription deals outside the App Store.
Currently, the EU is investigating Apple over its restrictive policies on alternative app stores and its new Core Technology Fee, which requires developers on third-party stores to pay 50 euro cents per install for apps with over 1 million downloads. The DMA went into effect in March, with the goal of regulating big tech to promote competition in digital markets.
“We are currently assessing Apple’s deliberately confusing proposal,” Spotify spokesperson Jeanne Moran says in an emailed statement to The Verge. “Apple once again blatantly disregards the fundamental requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission has made it clear that imposing recurring fees on basic elements like pricing and linking is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to expedite its investigation, implement daily fines and enforce the DMA.”
Apple has already made some small changes to its DMA compliance plans after facing criticism from developers and EU regulators earlier this year. It announced that developers of free apps won’t have to pay the Core Technology Fee to access outside app stores, and it also gave developers a one-time option of backing out of the company’s new business terms, but only if they didn’t already launch an alternative app store or use a third-party payment method.
Apple’s latest changes offer some improvements, but they come with the same caveats that make it more difficult for developers to do business.
