Apple will start letting developers challenge App Store store policies and won’t delay app updates over rule violations, possibly easing tensions with the creators who help fuel the iPhone maker’s growing services business.
“First, developers will not only be able to appeal decisions about whether an app violates a given guideline of the App Store Review Guidelines, but will also have a mechanism to challenge the guideline itself,” Apple said on Monday in a statement on its website.
Developers have criticised the company recently for its App Store rules after an update to the e-mail app Hey was rejected for not abiding by in-app-purchase rules.
European regulators and US lawmakers also have been scrutinising Apple on antitrust issues because the company generally requires developers to use its App Store payment service, which takes a cut of 15% to 30% of most app subscriptions and in-app purchases.
The company put the newly announced decision into practice on Monday by approving Hey’s updated app with bug fixes while the e-mail app’s developers work on a solution to the in-app-purchase issue.
