Apple Will Allow Reader Apps To Offer Links To Sign-Up Pages Outside The App As Japanese Investigation Closes

Apple has made another change to the way the App Store works, this time saying that it will allow “reader” apps like Netflix to push suers out to sign-up pages on a website, removing the need for them to work via Apple’s in-app purchase system.

The move comes after Japan ended an investigation into the App Store and its methods.

“Trust on the App Store is everything to us. The focus of the App Store is always to create a safe and secure experience for users, while helping them find and use great apps on the devices they love,” said Phil Schiller, Apple Fellow who oversees the App Store. “We have great respect for the Japan Fair Trade Commission and appreciate the work we’ve done together, which will help developers of reader apps make it easier for users to set up and manage their apps and services, while protecting their privacy and maintaining their trust.”

While not explicitly allowing apps to handle payments without going through the App Store, that’s essentially what this means for apps that offer video and music streaming, as well as magazines and books.

The Netflix app will be allowed to send users to the Netflix website to sign up, for example, and have them pay via credit card. That isn’t something that was previously allowed.

Apple continues to tweak the way the App Store works and while this news is positive, the fact it only applies to “reader” apps will be disappointing to developers that make all other kinds of apps.

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