“Earlier this month, Apple began cracking down on some of the methods developers use to monetize their apps, rejecting some apps that offered rewards for viewing videos and sharing content on social networks,” Juli Clover reports for MacRumors.
“Developers were understandably upset about this policy change, as offering opt-in ads in the form of rewards for video watching provided a way to generate revenue without significantly disrupting gameplay,” Clover reports. “Providing in-game currency, extra lives, or another incentive for watching an advertisement has become common in freemium games.”
Clover reports, “Apple now appears to have reversed course on its decision to reject apps for using these promotional methods, with TechCrunch noting that Apple has ceased rejecting apps for using incentivized ads and has changed its opinion on some previously rejected apps.”
Read more in the full article here.
Sarah Perez reports for TechCrunch, “Sources in the video ad industry have reported that app rejections related to this matter have now declined, indicating the policy is being rolled back. We’re also hearing that some of the initial, and more worrisome, rejections are being undone – that is, the apps are being allowed back in the App Store.”
“From our understanding, Apple’s internal App Review team will reject apps from developers who offer incentives designed get users to review their app, rate their app, or download other apps, because these activities can influence an app’s position on the App Store’s Top Charts,” Perez reports. “But simply watching a video ad to earn an incentive is allowed, as is offering incentives to users to post about the app on social media.”
Perez reports, “In addition, developers can show video ads that highlight their own apps or those belonging to others, but they can’t incentivize users to actually download those apps as a part of that experience.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]