Apple updates App Store rules in EU to avoid €500 million fine

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Apple just announced a series of changes to how it runs the App Store in Europe so it can follow the EU’s new DMA rules. 

These updates were expected, since the EU had already fined Apple €500 million for breaking the DMA earlier, and Apple risked even bigger fines if it didn’t act before the June 26 deadline.

One major change affects how app developers talk to their customers about payments. Before, Apple’s strict “anti-steering” rules stopped developers from telling users about cheaper ways to pay outside the App Store. 

Now, developers in the EU can share direct links to alternative payment options. For example, on their website, in another app, or inside the app itself using a web browser window. 

These links don’t need special warning screens or Apple’s required wording anymore. 

This means EU developers have a lot more freedom to point users to other ways to subscribe or buy things without going through Apple’s payment system.

But Apple didn’t make it cheaper overall. Instead of removing its fees, it created a more complicated system. 

There’s a new initial acquisition fee of 2% when a developer gains a new paying customer, plus a store services fee that ranges from 5% to 13% depending on the developer’s tier. 

For example, smaller developers in Apple’s Small Business Program will pay 10%. Developers in Tier 1 get basic App Store services, while Tier 2 offers extra perks like marketing tools and analytics.

For apps that let people pay outside the App Store using special links, there’s a new CTC fee of 5%, which will replace the old CTF. 

Previously, the CTF charged €0.50 for each app install once an app had over 1 million downloads. This will still apply until January 2026, when the new rules fully take over.

Apple’s new Digital Markets Act malicious compliance scheme is blatantly unlawful in both Europe and the United States and makes a mockery of fair competition in digital markets. Apps with competing payments are not only taxed but commercially crippled in the App Store.…

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) June 26, 2025

Epic Games’ CEO, Tim Sweeney, slammed Apple’s changes, calling them unfair and saying they hurt fair competition by making alternative payments costly and less attractive for developers.

What do you think about these new changes from Apple? Do you think they’re good for the consumers? Let’s talk about it below in the comments, or via our Twitter or Facebook.