Apple has urgently updated the App Review Guidelines to allow developers in the United States to direct users to external payment channels in their apps without paying any commissions. This change not only affects Epic Games but also brings new opportunities and challenges for other app developers such as Spotify. This article will explore in detail the background of this ruling, Apple’s response, and the factors developers need to consider when accessing third-party payments.
Recently, a California court ruled that Apple must stop charging commissions for non-App Store in-app purchases and prohibit it from restricting developers from providing external payment links.
After the ruling took effect, Apple urgently updated the “App Review Guidelines”,Allow developers in the US to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action in their apps that direct users to external payment channels without paying any commissions.
Epic Games and Apple’s tug-of-war ushered in a “heavy hammer”!
This ruling marks a pivotal development in an antitrust dispute filed by Epic Games that has lasted nearly five years.
In 2020,The popular mobile game “Fortnite” was suddenly removed from the App Store.The reason is that the game’s in-app purchases go away from its own payment channels, bypassing Apple’s 30% commission.Epic Games then sued Apple, beginning a protracted antitrust dispute.
In September 2021, a judge ruled in the first case that Apple won nine of the ten charges, except for “‘anti-boot clauses’ that prevent developers from referring users to other payment platforms in apps.” In response to this result, Epic Games filed another lawsuit. But in 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict.
In 2024,Epic Games filed another lawsuit, accusing Apple of failing to comply with the ruling and adding new fees and regulations to developers.This includes charging a 27% commission on out-of-app purchases, adding security warnings to external payment pages, and a tendency to influence user decision-making. The judge then asked Apple to submit documents related to the App Store policy change.
To achieve these three challenges, product managers will only continue to appreciate
Good product managers are very scarce, and product managers who understand users, business, and data are still in demand when they go out of the Internet. On the contrary, if you only do simple communication, inefficient execution, and shallow thinking, I am afraid that you will not be able to go through the torrent of the next 3-5 years.
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On April 30, 2025, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled on the case.Apple is required to stop charging commissions for in-app purchases made outside the App Store, and Apple is restricted from making rules to prevent developers from adding external payment buttons or links, and prohibiting it from publishing information that discourages users from using external payments.
Screenshot of the New York Times website report
Apple then said it did not agree with the verdict and would appeal, but will now follow the court’s instructions. On May 1, Apple updated the App Store review rules and clarified the relevant new rules.
From 2020 to 2025, this epic lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple has finally come to an end.
Updates to the App Store Review Guidelines
Currently on the App StoreApp Review GuideUpdated to cover 4 main articles: 3.1.1, 3.1.1(a), 3.1.3 and 3.1.3(a). In the news released by Apple and the updated review terms,Apple has made it clear that these changes only affect apps distributed in the US App Store.
The specific changes are as follows:
3.1.1 In-App Purchases: Apps may use in-app purchases to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and their related services, such as minting, listing transactions, and transfers. Apps can allow users to view NFTs they own, but NFT ownership should not unlock in-app functionality.Apps may allow users to browse other people’s NFT collections, but apps may not contain buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchase using non-in-app purchase mechanisms (except for apps on U.S. storefronts).
3.1.1(a) Links to Other Purchase Methods: Developers may request authorization to provide a link to a website they own or are responsible for in their App for users to purchase digital content or services.However, developers do not need to obtain these authorizations if they only need to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action in their apps on the US storefront.
3.1.3 Other Ways to Purchase: The following apps may use purchases other than in-app purchases.However, except for apps on U.S. storefronts and apps as set forth in 3.1.1(a) and 3.1.3(a), apps mentioned in this section may not encourage users to use purchases other than in-app purchases within their apps.Developers can send promotional materials to their user base outside of the app to learn about purchases beyond in-app purchases.
3.1.3(a) Reader Apps: These apps may allow users to access previously purchased content or content subscriptions (including, including: magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video). Various reader apps offer account creation for users using the free version and account management features for existing users. Reader app developers can apply for an External Link Account authorization to provide a link to information in their app to a website they own or are responsible for, allowing users to create or manage accounts.Authorization is not required if developers only need to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action in their apps on the US storefront.
The above update means,Apps on the App Store in the U.S. will be able to add buttons, external links, or other calls to action to direct users to purchases other than in-app purchases without any special authorization.
Do you want to access third-party payment?
After the new regulations came into effect, a number of companies acted quickly, and it is reported that Spotify, Patreon and other companies have submitted app updates that include external purchase links. The CEO of Epic Games also announced that Fortnite will return to the US iPhone side App Store in the near future after a five-year absence.
According to news on May 2, Apple has approved Spotify to update its iPhone app. With this, Spotify became the first major app to offer unrestricted external payment links to users in the United States.
Although the Chinese market has not yet been affected by this ruling, we have received a lot of confusion from overseas developers in the past few days:Should we actively access third-party payment?
The ability to use third-party payments is indeed very positive news for developers, butAccessing third-party payments also involves many hidden issues, such as tax rates, handling fees, and users’ payment habits.
For developers who want to try to access third-party payments, whether they develop it themselves or directly use third-party providers, the editor would like to remind everyone:Be sure to carefully evaluate the relevant factors to ensure that the new payment method is convenient for users and does not negatively impact your business.
