The App Store will support payments through external links

Apple is making changes to its ecosystem. One of the most prominent that will arrive shortly is the possibility that developers of reading applications can include links to their own website to manage the subscription or make payments.

From this March 30, the update App Store Review guideline 3.1.3(a) allows app developers to request access to the External Link Account Entitlement program.

You will need to be the owner of the Apple Developer Program account, answer certain questions about the app, and agree to the terms and conditions.

The link should go to a web page maintained by the developer (external to the App Store, ie open in the browser) where users can create and manage their account. The management will always have to be external and it will not be possible to advertise the payment within the Apple app store.

The apps that qualify for this project are the so-called “reading apps”, which must offer some type of digital content (magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video). This is the case of services such as Netflix, Spotify or Kindle.

This possibility will be welcome, because until now these subscription platforms had to pay a 30% commission to Apple if they wanted to offer users the possibility of registering using the App Store.