If you want your app in the iOS App Store, you need to read this

Apple has just announced a brand new development that could affect whether your app gets seen by a large share of the app viewing public. Apple’s App Store, which boasts more than 25 billion downloads per year, has just announced that it will no longer list apps that don’t have a privacy policy. In fact, even if your app has a privacy policy that is outdated, you’re going to have to rethink where you list your app.

Why has Apple made this decision?

2018 has seen businesses all over the world update their privacy policies in some way, forcing them to look at what data they store and how they use it. This has also encouraged consumers and customers to take notice, and to put their trust in products that are being seen to have more effective policies.

One reason for this enforcement might be the number of reports on shady back door data collections, as well as the many data breaches that have occurred in the past few months. To stop these dodgy dealings from happening, Apple has made the decision to use this blanket policy.

Another main reason for this is the GDPR, which came into effect on May 25th 2018, and decreed that if your business stores, collects or processes the personal data of anyone in Europe, you will need their explicit consent no matter where in the world you operate from. The GDPR has caused many consumers to educate themselves about how their data is being used, so Apple’s change might have been partly due to demand from users, as well as from legal pressure to comply with the GDPR.

Who will this affect?

A few months ago Apple made it mandatory for apps with subscriptions to provide a URL to their privacy policy along with their listing. Times have changed since then however, and now Apple requires all its listed applications to exhibit their policies. The policies companies provide will open in Safari, for iPhone and iPad users, causing more traffic to Apple’s browser.

How will this affect apps?

The ways in which this could affect apps and app developers are simple. If you don’t have an up-to-date GDPR compliant privacy policy, you’re not allowed a seat at the table. There aren’t many apps, social media channels, websites or online stores or places out there that don’t collect or use personal data in some way, from cookies to targeted advertising, so if you own one of the above and you haven’t updated your privacy policy, it’s definitely time to change.