Apple reverses decision and will not disable home screen web apps in Europe.
(Reuters) – Apple has reversed a decision to block online apps in the European Union that bypass its 30 percent App Store fees by selling subscriptions directly through its websites, the company said on Friday, after the move took a toll on regulators.
It had cited complex security and privacy concerns as reasons for its decision to remove so-called home screen web apps, which can be launched as a standalone app on a device.
The apps are expected to return to iPhones with the iOS 17.4 update in early March, Apple said on its website.
“We have received requests to continue providing support for the Home Screen web apps on iOS, so we will continue to offer the current Home Screen web apps in the EU,” the company said.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, had said in late February that it was reviewing Apple’s move, which the company had said was part of its efforts to comply with the bloc’s technology rules, called the Digital Markets Act.
