Apple has officially launched its new App Store appeals process. The company had first announced that it would be bringing a new App Store appeals process at its WWDC 20 event earlier this year.
The tech giant will no longer delay bug fixes over guidelines disputes, and will allow developers to appeal a specific violation of an App Store guideline separately. It will also allow developers to challenge its guidelines through the process.
It has now made its new appeals process live as announced in a note posted on its developer website.
“We’ve updated the app review process as announced at WWDC20,” reads the note.
“For apps that are already on the App Store, bug fixes will no longer be delayed over guideline violations except for those related to legal issues. You’ll instead be able to address guideline violations in your next submission. And now, in addition to appealing decisions about whether an app violates guidelines, you can suggest changes to the guidelines. We also encourage you to submit your App Store and Apple development platform suggestions so we can continue to improve experiences for the developer community,” it said.
Feud with Basecamp
The appeals process was introduced on the heels of public disputes over its guidelines. One of the most significant feuds was the one with Basecamp. Basecamp is the creator of the email service ‘Hey.’ It had challenged Apple’s guidelines when Apple had held up the app’s iOS companion to its email service after Basecamp refused to include in-app sign-up option for its paid email service.
The two companies came to an agreement where Basecamp agreed to add dummy accounts for the iOS app, allowing consumers to sign up for free and then upgrade to a paid account on the web.
In another instance, WordPress founding developer Matt Mullenweg had also alleged that Apple had blocked updates and bug fixes for the WordPress for iOS app until it committed to supporting in-app purchases. Apple had later resolved the issue.
Its “anti-competitive” app store guidelines, especially its 30 per cent “Apple tax” has been criticised by companies, including Fortnite game maker Epic Games and Facebook.