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Apple’s shifting how it manages its App Store.
Angela Lang/CNET
Apple on Wednesday told developers they can now apply to allow “external link account entitlement,” a new designation that allows some apps to include signup links that point outside the App Store. The move, which was announced last year as part of a settlement with Japan’s Fair Trade Commission, will allow “reader” apps like streaming services more leeway in how they sign up customers.
Apple told developers in a blog post that the reader apps will be able to link to a website that is owned and maintained by the developer, so people can “create or manage their account outside of the app.” The new rules for its App Store, which Apple had resisted, will apply globally to apps that provide magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music or video as their primary function.
“Trust on the App Store is everything to us. The focus of the App Store is always to create a safe and secure experience for users, while helping them find and use great apps on the devices they love,” Phil Schiller, Apple Fellow who oversees the App Store, said in a statement when announcing the change in September last year.
Netflix and Spotify, two reader apps who historically have spoken out about Apple’s App Store policies, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment about whether they plan to apply to the new program.
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