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Apple updates App Store guidelines with tracking opt-in requirement and more

Screenshot of an Apple app asking for privacy permissions.

Enlarge (credit: Apple)

In a post to its portal for developers, Apple has outlined a number of new changes to its App Store Review Guidelines—including the requirement that developers request user opt-in to track users with IDFA (ID for advertisers) device identifiers.

That specific change was expected soon; Apple announced that it will come with iOS 14.5 in the “early spring” and has published a dedicated support page just for that issue. Apple has APIs for developers, called the App Tracking Transparency APIs, for managing these required prompts.

This isn’t the only change to the App Store Review Guidelines, of course. Among other things, Apple “clarified the prohibition of promoting certain substances.” The guidelines state that apps should not “encourage consumption” of tobacco and vape products, illegal drugs, or “excessive amounts of alcohol.”

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