Apple revamps business terms in the EU to enable App Store link-outs and out-of-store promotions

Apple has made a number of key changes in its business terms for European developers that will now allow companies to promote and link to deals and purchases outside of the App Store.

From iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, all EU developers on Apple’s existing or new business terms will be able to communicate and promote offers for purchases at a “destination of their choice”.

This can be an alternative app marketplace, another app or a website. Apple the destination can be accessed outside the app or via a web view that appears within it.

Developers can also communicate offers to users that are available outside of an app, including information about subscription pricing, for example, and instructions on how to obtain these offers.

Altering the deal

The changes are available to both developers that sign up to Apple’s new business terms (which includes the Core Technology Fee) and those that retain the standard terms.

However, developers will still have fees to pay. For link-outs to digital goods or services, Apple will take a 5% revenue share that it is calling an ‘initial acquisition fee’.

This means that after an initial install, developers will owe Apple a 5% cut of all sales of digital goods and services from that customer on any platform for a 12-month period. The fees will only be charged for new users. 

The ‘store services fee’, meanwhile, charges developers who adopt its new business terms an additional 10% commission (or 5% for small businesses) on sales. For companies that retain Apple’s existing terms, they will be charged a 20% fee on link-out sales, reduced to 7% for small businesses and subscriptions over one year.

The terms last for 12-months after each app install, app update or reinstall by a user.

Apple said this fee reflects its services and capabilities, which it claimed includes app distribution and management, app review, App Store trust and safety, re-discovery, re-engagement tools and promotional tools and services, customer support, and more.

Taking it further

The latest updates to its business terms come as the tech giant feels the heat from the European Commission and the Digital Markets Act.

In March, the EC launched a non-compliance investigation into Apple over anti-steering and other policies it believes break DMA rules. It is also investigating Apple’s new business terms, which includes a Core Technology Fee that charges €0.50 for each first annual install per year over one million downloads.

Apple claimed the new fee structure “may be defeating the purposes of its obligations under Article 6(4) of the DMA”.