Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) revises cryptocurrency Apps in its App store, and it’s recently taken steps to appease those in the space.
News of the revisions started to go viral over the weekend.
One of the things that Apple is known for is its strict rules when it comes to any of the Apps it includes in its App Store. This is especially the case for Apps related to cryptos.
A group called The Developers Union requested new guidelines for App developers. It seems their requests may be paying off.
Why the guideline changes?
In announcing these guidelines, Apple noted how Apps are “changing the world, enriching people’s lives, and enabling developers to innovate like never before. As a result, the App Store has grown into an ecosystem for millions of developers and more than a billion users”.
In the announcement, Apple stated:
Whether you are a first time developer or a large team of experienced programmers, we are excited that you are creating Apps for the App Store and want to help you understand our guidelines so you can be confident your App will get through the review process quickly.
List of new guidelines
The new guidelines deal with everything from ICOs to mining.
For example, for ICOs, Apple’s guidelines call for Apps that they facilitate from them to come from established banks, securities firms, future commission merchants and other approved financial institutions. This policy also applies to crypto futures trading, and other crypto securities or quasi securities trading firms.
As far as mining is concerned, Apple specifically states that Apps can’t mine for cryptos “unless the processing is performed off device (e.g. cloud-based mining).”
For the rest of the guidelines, Apple states the following:
Apps may facilitate transactions or transmissions of cryptocurrency on an approved exchange, provided they are offered by the exchange itself. Cryptocurrency Apps may not offer currency for completing tasks, such as downloading other Apps, encouraging other users to download, posting to social networks, etc.
You’ve heard it said often, likely, that mining requires a lot of electricity use. Apple wants developers to design their Apps to use power efficiently.
It states that developers doing mining activities should make sure their Apps didn’t:
- rapidly drain batteries,
- generate excessive heat, or put unnecessary strain on device resources.
- include any third party advertisements displayed within them
Apple’s history with cryptos
These changes come on the heels of Apple, about five years ago, starting to make some changes, but some developers were still not happy. The company even reportedly asked companies to remove cryptos from their Apps.
The fear is how easy some developers can create Apps simply used for mining.
These days there are a lot of cryptocurrency Applications and more added every day, but the latest rules may affect a few Apps already featured on Apple’s App Store, and cryptocurrency Applications looking to be published in the future.
The Developers Union
A group called The Developers Union is thought to have spurred these new latest guidelines.
Here is a sampling of the letter they sent to Apple:
We believe that people who create great software should be able to make a living doing it. So we created The Developers Union to advocate for sustainability in the App Store.
Today, we are asking Apple to publicly commit — by the tenth anniversary of the App Store this July — to allowing free trials for all Apps in the App Stores before July 2019. After that, we'll start advocating for a more reasonable revenue cut and other community-driven, developer-friendly changes.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest