Following the EU and Japan, Brazil has now forced Apple to open up iOS to third-party app stores and non-Apple payment processing to developers. App developers can now use alternative app stores in Brazil to distribute their apps, and they can also process payments made for apps and games and in-app purchases outside Apple’s payment system.
As it has every time it has been forced to do something like this in the past, Apple is once again highlighting how these changes “open new avenues for malware, fraud, scams, and privacy and security risks”.
All alternative app stores must be authorized by Apple and “meet ongoing requirements to serve developers and users”. Apple will also perform a “baseline review,” what it calls notarization, on all apps, even those that come from alternative stores. The process is “focused on basic functionality and protecting users from serious threats,” the company says.
Notarization “involves a combination of automated checks and human review”, but it is “less comprehensive than the app review process that applies to all apps on the App Store”.
Developers will also be able to use third-party payment systems for apps distributed through the App Store. However, alternative payment methods “will always be offered with Apple in-app purchases”.
Like other parts of the world, Apple is still getting paid well. It is demanding a 15% commission on transactions for apps and services made on websites linked to an app, with a lower rate of 10% imposed on some developers. This is the same amount Apple is now charging “the vast majority” of developers with apps in the App Store who use Apple’s paid services. A minority would pay 21% instead. In-app purchases made through Apple come with an additional 5% fee.
There is also a “Core Technology Commission”, which pays developers 5% to Apple even if they sell their apps outside the App Store using the new alternative marketplace. According to the company, “it compensates Apple for the tools, technologies, and services that enable developers to create and share their apps with iOS users”.