Hacker News with Generative AI: App Stores

Musi says evidence shows Apple conspired with music industry on App Store ban (arstechnica.com)
For millions of music fans, the most controversial app ban of the past year was not the brief TikTok outage but the ongoing delisting of Musi from Apple's App Store.

Apple, Music Industry, App Stores, Legal Issues, Antitrust

13 points by pseudolus 31 days ago | 0 comments

Judge pressures Apple to approve Fortnite or return to court (techcrunch.com)
A federal judge is asking Apple to approve Fortnite’s submission on the U.S. App Store or return to court to explain the legal basis as to why it has not done so.

Legal Disputes, Apple, Fortnite, App Stores

10 points by aa_is_op 38 days ago | 0 comments

Apple's $100B-a-Year App Store Will Never Be the Same (bloomberg.com)
Apple’s $100 billion-a-year App Store business will never be the same again after getting upended by lawsuits. Also: Inside Apple’s artificial intelligence crisis and what comes next; new details on iOS 19, iPadOS 19 and visionOS 3; and CarPlay Ultra is finally ready — if you can afford it.

Apple, App Stores, Lawsuits, Artificial Intelligence, Operating Systems

5 points by mfiguiere 39 days ago | 2 comments

Google reverses course after blocking Nextcloud Files app (neowin.net)
Google has reversed course after effectively crippling the Nextcloud Files app on Android for users who installed it via the Google Play Store, a decision that many, including Nextcloud, felt was an abuse of power.

Google, Android, Software, Open Source, App Stores

58 points by bundie 42 days ago | 23 comments

Fortnite unavailable on iPhones globally after Apple rejects App Store release (theguardian.com)
Epic Games says Fortnite is now unavailable on iPhones and iPads globally because Apple blocked a bid to release the popular video game in the App Store in the US and Europe.

Video Games, Apple, Mobile Gaming, Lawsuits, App Stores

7 points by beardyw 42 days ago | 2 comments

Apple made over $10B from US App Store commissions last year (techcrunch.com)
Over $10 billion — that’s how much revenue Apple’s U.S. App Store raked in last year, according to a new analysis by app intelligence provider Appfigures.

App Stores, Revenue, Apple, Business, Technology

5 points by zhisme 42 days ago | 2 comments

A new bill would force Apple to allow third-party app stores (theverge.com)
Representative Kat Cammack (R-FL) introduced a bill Tuesday that would require “large app store operators” like Apple to let users install third-party app stores and set them as their default.

Apple, App Stores, Legislation, Competition

5 points by redbell 51 days ago | 0 comments

Linuxphoneapps.org (linuxphoneapps.org)
LinuxPhoneApps.org is an App Directory that lists apps for Linux Phones like the PinePhone or Librem 5, that run Linux distributions which do not have a proper (de)centralized app store yet.

Linux, Open Source, App Stores

9 points by weinzierl 56 days ago | 0 comments

Epic Games announces new webshop product, alternative to Apple in-app purchases (theverge.com)
Epic Games is making some big changes to its store to provide an enticing alternative to Apple’s in-app purchases for developers.

Epic Games, App Stores, Mobile Gaming, Business, Technology

14 points by astlouis44 57 days ago | 0 comments

Epic Games launches webshops product for gamedevs to circumvent app store fees (techcrunch.com)
Epic Games is taking a victory lap. After notching a big win against Apple in a years-long legal dispute, Epic announced that its Epic Games Store will allow developers to open webshops, which can offer players out-of-app purchases to circumvent fees from Apple and Google.

Epic Games, App Stores, Gaming, Business, Legal Disputes

12 points by astlouis44 57 days ago | 0 comments

Google Play sees 47% decline in apps since start of last year (techcrunch.com)
Google Play’s app marketplace is losing apps.

Google Play, App Stores, Mobile Apps, Tech Industry, Decline

355 points by GeekyBear 58 days ago | 269 comments

Concerns over Potential Government Misuse of App Store Data Centers (mastodon.social)

Privacy, Government Surveillance, Data Centers, App Stores

5 points by LeoPanthera 93 days ago | 0 comments

Move over, Apple: Meet the alternative app stores coming to the EU (techcrunch.com)
People in the European Union are now allowed to access alternative app stores thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation designed to foster increased competition in the app ecosystem.

EU, App Stores, Competition, Regulation

24 points by latexr 106 days ago | 11 comments

Meta is trying to offload kids safety onto app stores with new bills says Google (theverge.com)
Google has its own ideas about what kids online safety legislation should look like.

Online Safety, Legislation, Google, Meta, App Stores

7 points by mooreds 106 days ago | 1 comments

Apple has 90 days to allow app sideloading in Brazil (theverge.com)
Apple has been told it has to allow alternative app stores on iOS in Brazil within 90 days, as reported by Brazilian publication Valor International and 9to5Mac.

Apple, Brazil, Legislation, App Stores

89 points by soapdog 112 days ago | 37 comments

Utah becomes the first state to pass an app store age verification bill (theverge.com)
Utah became the first state in the country to pass legislation requiring app store operators to verify users’ ages and require parental consent for minors to download apps.

Legislation, App Stores, Privacy, Children, Technology

6 points by owendarko 114 days ago | 0 comments

The Amazon Appstore for Android devices will be discontinued on August 20, 2025 (amazon.com)
Enter the characters you see below

Android, Amazon, App Stores, Discontinued Services

221 points by gdrift 128 days ago | 195 comments

Apps That Didn't Add 'Trader' Contact Info in the EU Removed from App Store (macrumors.com)
Apps that have not complied with the trader requirement in the European Union have been removed from the App Store, Apple informed developers today.

App Stores, EU Regulations, Privacy, Apple

14 points by tosh 129 days ago | 7 comments

TikTok is back in the App Store (theverge.com)
Nearly a month after it was banned in the US, TikTok has returned to the App Store for iPhones and other Apple devices as well as the Google Play store for Android phones and tablets.

App Stores, Social Media, TikTok, Apple, Google

131 points by scarface_74 134 days ago | 219 comments

Apple to Restore TikTok to US App Store Following Justice Department Letter (bloomberg.com)
Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google are restoring ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok to their app stores on Thursday following assurances in a letter from US Attorney General Pam Bondi that a ban wouldn’t immediately be enforced.

Apple, TikTok, App Stores, US Government, Law

7 points by mfiguiere 134 days ago | 1 comments

EU's AltStore Gets First Native iOS Pornography App (macrumors.com)
In the European Union, the Digital Markets Act allows developers to distribute iOS apps through alternate app stores.

iOS, App Stores, Europe, Pornography, Law

57 points by ilamont 136 days ago | 79 comments

F-Droid Security Issues (2022) (privsec.dev)
F-Droid is a popular alternative app repository for Android, especially known for its main repository dedicated to free and open-source software. F-Droid is often recommended among security and privacy enthusiasts, but how does it stack up against Play Store in practice? This write-up will attempt to emphasize major security issues with F-Droid that you should consider.

Android, Security, Open Source, App Stores, Privacy

17 points by karlzt 159 days ago | 9 comments

Apple says it's following the law by removing TikTok from the App Store (theverge.com)
With TikTok, CapCut, and Marvel Snap shut down in the US, Apple has taken the unusual step of articulating why it’s following the law banning ByteDance apps and removing them from the App Stores for the Mac, iPhone, and other devices.

Apple, TikTok, Law, App Stores, ByteDance

11 points by deathsunshine 159 days ago | 2 comments

Cloudflare's VPN app among half-dozen pulled from Indian app stores (techcrunch.com)
More than half-a-dozen VPN apps, including Cloudflare’s widely-used 1.1.1.1, have been pulled from India’s Apple App Store and Google Play Store following intervention from government authorities, TechCrunch has learned.

VPN, India, Government Regulation, App Stores, Security

8 points by cannibalXxx 176 days ago | 0 comments

The App Store era must end, and the Mac is the model (sixcolors.com)
The App Store era must end, and the Mac is the model

App Stores, Apple, Operating Systems, Mac

10 points by mpweiher 217 days ago | 1 comments

Apple Gets EU Warning to Stop Geo-Blocking on App, iTunes Stores (yahoo.com)
Apple Inc. was notified by the European Union that its geo-blocking practices are potentially in breach of consumer protection rules, adding to the iPhone maker’s regulatory issues in the bloc.

Apple, European Union, Geo-Blocking, Consumer Protection, App Stores

3 points by dmitrygr 227 days ago | 0 comments

Indonesia orders Apple, Google to take down Chinese bargain app Temu (theregister.com)
Indonesia's government last week ordered Apple and Google to remove Chinese e-commerce app Temu from their app stores.

Indonesia, E-commerce, App Stores, Regulation, China

7 points by nobody9999 249 days ago | 3 comments

Bluesky Soars to Top 5 in US App Store After Rival X Changes How Blocks Work (cnet.com)
The social network Bluesky appears to be on its way up. This week, the social media platform moved to No. 5 on the free app section of the US App Store, above TikTok and Instagram. That's up from No. 181 just a week ago, according to TechCrunch, which cites figures from app intelligence firm Appfigures.

Social Media, App Stores, Technology, Competition

5 points by yoelo 251 days ago | 0 comments

Developers Now Required to Share Phone Number and Address on EU App Store (macrumors.com)
Apple today reminded developers that the EU trader requirement in the European Union is now being enforced.

Apple, EU Regulations, App Stores, Developer Privacy, Mobile Development

28 points by amichail 251 days ago | 58 comments

Google Play killed my game and won't tell me why (antiidlereborn.com)
Google Play has “terminated” me – Current situation

Google Play, Mobile Games, Business, App Stores

136 points by xy2_ 259 days ago | 69 comments