Apple Will Now Allow Apps to Send Ads Via Push Notifications
Apple is changing a heavily criticised policy of the App Store. In the past, the company completely disallowed apps from using notifications to send marketing messages and ads to users.
There was one major problem, though. Even though Apple banned third-party apps from using notifications to send ads, the company was often accused to be doing the exact same thing and getting a free pass because it controls the platform.
That’s changing now, though. Apple is finally letting third-party apps use push notifications for marketing purposes. But there is a small catch: users have to explicitly opt-in for these types of notifications, and the apps will also need to allow the user to opt-out of receiving those messages whenever they want. This will hopefully make things fairer for third-party app makers.
“Push Notifications should not be used for promotions or direct marketing purposes unless customers have explicitly opted in to receive them via consent language displayed in your app’s UI, and you provide a method in your app for a user to opt-out from receiving such messages. Abuse of these services may result in revocation of your privileges,” the updated guidelines read.
As 9to5Mac reports, Apple has also updated some of its other App Store guidelines. The company will require apps that offer third-party login options such as Facebook Login to support Sign In with Apple by April 30, 2020. Sign In with Apple is the company’s own login system that focuses heavily on the privacy of the user.
Apple is also getting stricter when it comes to allowing “dating” and “fortune telling” apps into the App Store. “We will reject these apps unless they provide a unique, high-quality experience” says the updated App Store guidelines.