NFT and cryptocurrency applications are allowed on the App Store, but until now the rules surrounding these apps have been rather vague. Apple clarifies what they can or can’t do.
On the occasion of the release of iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1 and macOS Ventura this week, Apple revised the rules of the “guidelines”, this set of criteria and prohibitions that developers must respect if they want to distribute their applications on the App Store. Some passages have been added to clarify what apps offering NFTs and cryptocurrencies are allowed to do.
Rights and obligations
More specifically, these new rules limit part of the possibilities of the applications concerned. Rule 3.11 thus specifies in black and white that cryptocurrencies or NFTs cannot be used to unlock content or functionalities. Apple also bans QR codes, license keys, augmented reality “markers”. In the mind of the manufacturer, apps selling content or features should absolutely pass through the system. app integrated from the App Store.
Apple earns 15 to 30% commission on every sale app. No privileges for NFT/crypto apps! However, this could change in the future: some countries, such as South Korea or the Netherlands (but only for dating apps), force the manufacturer to accept other payment systems.
These apps are allowed to use payments app Apple sells NFTs or NFT-related services (to beat, Handover…). However, they must not contain buttons or links that would direct users to third-party stores on the Internet to make their purchases. Finally, users can sell and buy cryptocurrency apps using coins fiati.e. official currency.