Tech Desk 
May 02, 2025
Tech giant Apple has started allowing apps in its US App Store to link users to external websites for purchases, a massive shift in the App Store's in-app purchasing policy, which discouraged iOS app developers.
The move follows a court ruling in favour of Epic Games, which compelled Apple to reduce its control over how digital goods and subscriptions are sold through iPhone apps, TechCrunch reported.
As it stands, App Store developers can now include buttons and external links redirecting users to their own websites to complete transactions, bypassing Apple’s in-app payment system and its usual 30% commission.
“The App Review Guidelines have been updated for compliance with a United States court decision,” Apple wrote in a blog post.
The update is an outcome of a legal battle that kicked off in 2020 when Epic Games challenged Apple’s restrictions, following which a court ruling in 2021 ordered Apple to allow alternative payment links, though the iPhone maker appealed against it.
While the company later permitted external links, it enforced a 27% fee and added warning messages, which were termed “scare screens” by critics, to discourage users.
On the bright side for developers, the court has now stopped Apple from using the tactics it did in the past, obliging it to remove related guidelines.
