Apple to Comply With New Court Ordered App Store Rules, But Will Appeal

Apple plans to change its U.S. App Store rules in accordance with a ruling from the U.S Northern District of California, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. The company does plan to appeal the decision, though.

app store awards 2022
"We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court's order and we will appeal," reads Apple's statement.

Apple was found to be in violation of a 2021 injunction that targeted its anti-steering ‌App Store‌ rules, and the company has been ordered to comply with that injunction immediately. The court has provided instructions on the changes that Apple needs to make.

  • Apple cannot prevent developers from adding links or buttons that direct customers to make purchases outside of the ‌App Store‌.
  • Apple cannot collect any fee or commission for purchases that consumers make outside of an app, nor can it track, audit, or monitor consumer activity.
  • Apple cannot control the language, formatting, placement, or style that developers use to direct customers to purchases outside of an app.
  • Apple cannot interfere with consumers' choice to leave an app with anything other than a neutral message about visiting a third-party site, so no "scare screens."
  • Apple is prohibited from excluding certain categories of apps and developers from obtaining link access.
  • Apple cannot prevent developers from using dynamic links that bring consumers to a specific product page in a logged-in state, nor can it prevent apps from providing product details, user details, or other information that refers to the user intending to make a purchase.

In the order, the court said that it "will not tolerate further delays" and that the ruling is effective immediately, so Apple will need to make these changes imminently.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
terminal macos tahoe

Apple's Terminal App Gets Colorful Redesign in macOS Tahoe

Monday June 16, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's Terminal app is getting a visual refresh in macOS Tahoe, and it's the first notable design update since the command-line tool debuted. The updated Terminal will support 24-bit color and Powerline fonts, according to Apple's State of the Platforms presentation at WWDC25. The app will also adopt the new Liquid Glass aesthetic with redesigned themes that align with macOS 26's broader...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

haunebu Avatar
7 weeks ago
Charging up to 30% just for putting something in an App Store is inexcusable rent-seeking behavior. Apple are a bunch of money grubbers with a captive audience.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
It’s always something Avatar
7 weeks ago
I may regret opening my mouth but these requirements do not seem to be anything other than common sense ones.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
7 weeks ago
Just comply

You make money a zillion different ways Apple
Take the small L and move on.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SeaFox Avatar
7 weeks ago
Imagine just following the law in countries you operate in.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
7 weeks ago

While I agree with most of the ruling, this point in particular is ridiculous.
Totally disagree
I'm not Apple's customer when using a third party App, whether they like it or not.

So much of the problem with Apple is their overzealous hubris about "what is theirs".
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
7 weeks ago
They need to fire the VP of Finance who lied under oath in this case.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)