Now ads may appear on iPhone app notifications as Apple changes App Store guidelines

Chennai: In a shift from its policy of not allowing apps to use notifications to push advertisements, Apple has changed its App Store guidelines, reported the 9to5Mac site.

Depending on the user, this could be a welcome move or just more spam to deal with. For example, Music apps could notify you of the latest songs to purchase, shopping apps of upcoming sales, and so on. Paid upgrades too could be pushed using this route.

But don’t worry, you still have the power to choose whether you want to receive the ads or not.

Apps will have to take explicit permission from users before it begins displaying promotional content on notifications. And even if you choose to see ads, you can always opt out. Those are the conditions under which the new App Store guidelines permit apps to make use of the notification feature.

The change in rules comes after Apple itself was found flouting its own ban on using notifications for promotions, advertising and direct marketing. In the past two years, Apple has sent out notifications with promotional material of its own, which brought up the issue of anti-competitive practices.

Meanwhile, Apple will now allow dating apps and fortune-telling apps on its platform only if they provide a “unique, high-quality experience”, in its endeavour to provide only useful apps, unlike burp and fart apps available freely on Android. Apps will also be scrutinised to check whether they can be used to commit crime or evade law enforcement, and such apps will be banned.