Apple updates App Store guidelines as part of settlement agreement with U.S. developers

Apple in August announced settlement consisting of a number of changes coming to the App Store guidelines that, pending court approval, will resolve a class-action suit from U.S. developers.
Apple’s App Store on iPhone:

The App Store is a safe and trusted place for customers to discover and download apps, and a great opportunity for developers. The following updates to the App Store Review Guidelines support new features in upcoming OS releases, better protect customers, and help your apps go through the review process as smoothly as possible.
• Added 2.3.13. “In-app events are timely events that happen within your app. To feature your event on the App Store, it must fall within an event type provided in App Store Connect. All event metadata must be accurate and pertain to the event itself, rather than the app more generally. Events must happen at the times and dates you select in App Store Connect, including across multiple storefronts. You may monetize your event so long as you follow the rules set forth in Section 3 on Business. And your event deep link must direct users to the proper destination within your app. Read In-App Events for detailed guidance on acceptable event metadata and event deep links.”
• Deleted from 3.1.3. “Developers cannot use information obtained within the app to target individual users outside of the app to use purchasing methods other than in-app purchase (such as sending an individual user an email about other purchasing methods after that individual signs up for an account within the app).”
• Added 5.1.1 (x). “Apps may request basic contact information (such as name and email address) so long as the request is optional for the user, features and services are not conditional on providing the information, and it complies with all other provisions of these guidelines, including limitations on collecting information from kids.”
For full details, read the App Store Review Guidelines.

MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote back in August:
If the court approves, Apple will have “won” this settlement, that’s for sure.
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!
The post Apple updates App Store guidelines as part of settlement agreement with U.S. developers appeared first on MacDailyNews.