New App Store review guidelines

Hello,


I've just read this page from the news and updates site for developers.


https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=01212020a


I would like to know more about this particular change to the guidelines if anyone can assist.


Guideline 4.7 sections 4,5 and 6.

This looks like it will be enforced on March 3rd.



Here are some inital queries I have about the guideline changes:


If an app has a link to a donations page that is opened in a webview that this is against the guidelines and the app will be rejected after March 3rd 2020?


Will this rule be expanded in the future to all types of financial operations e.g. payments?



Will there be any organisations that exempt from this rule?


Thanks

Replies

You are asking general questions in response to very specific situations. No one outside of Apple, or even inside for that matter, could answer that question.


The specific article you are referencing seems to be discussing an effort to go back and enforce existing policies for apps that are already in the store. A common refrain here in the forums is "why was my app rejected? I see 12 other apps that are violating guidelines in exactly the same way."


No one outside of Apple, or even inside for that matter, can or will tell you, in advance, whether your app will be rejected or not. The specific article you are referencing discusses existing policies and existing apps. It makes no mention of new apps or new submissions in any way.


There is a special category for charitable donations. You need to be an approved non-profit and jump though many other hoops. If that is the case for your app, both you and Apple would be aware of that.


I don't know what you mean about the rule being "expanded in the future to all types of financial operations e.g. payments". Those types of in-app payments have been banned from day one and will likely continue to be so.


If you were an organization that was exempt from these rules, then you would already know that. You would likely be under an NDA in that case as well. Is this an attempt to resurrect that old refrain I mentioned above "why was my app rejected? I see 12 other apps that are violating guidelines in exactly the same way." If so, then you should consider the specific article you are referencing to be very pertinent to your question.


To sum up, guidelines have not changed at all. The specific article you are referencing says that "in the near future", Apple is going to start enforcing guidlines that were in place almost a year ago. If this concerns you, then maybe you have reason to be concerned. No one knows anything about your app or your organization, so there is abolutely nothing specific anyone can tell you.


In general, people who are overly concerned about violating guidelines usually have nothing to worry about. These guidelines are directed towards dishonest developers, criminals, and scam artists. By their nature, such people are not concerned about guidelines at all. If their apps get rejected, they might come here and solicit ideas on how to get around the guidelines. Real professional scam artists will simply create a dozen new accounts, reskim the apps, and keep resubmitting until they get it past the reviewers.

You asked:

> If an app has a link to a donations page that is opened in a webview that this is against the guidelines and the app will be rejected after March 3rd 2020? Will this rule be expanded in the future to all types of financial operations e.g. payments?


The provisions refer specifically to "apps containing or running code that is not embedded in the binary" and states they "cannot provide access to real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations". So the answer to your question is 'most likely not' if it is clear that they are in a webView and not within the app OR the app does not provide real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations.

>In general, people who are overly concerned about violating guidelines usually have nothing to worry about. These guidelines are directed towards dishonest developers, criminals, and scam artists.


This may be a bit strong, especially here. Even if you are a legit developer, because of the possibility of misuse, you can't use ex-app HTML5 code if you have real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations in the app. Just like 'even if you have a legitimate use for it, you can't carry a knife onto an airplane'. Exceptions can be made for law enforcement.