Apple announces changes for iOS in Brazil

Apple today announced changes affecting iOS apps in Brazil, reflecting a recent agreement with Brazil’s competition regulator, the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE). These updates create new capabilities for developers to distribute apps to alternative app marketplaces and process app payments for digital goods and services outside of Apple In-App Purchase. In addition to these changes, Apple has been working to mitigate the new privacy and security risks they pose to provide the best and most secure experience for users in Brazil.

The new possibilities for alternative app marketplaces and app payments open new avenues for malware, fraud, scams, and privacy and security risks. Apple has worked with Brazil’s regulator to introduce protections against these new threats, including important safeguards for younger users. These protections include notarization for iOS apps, an authorization process for app marketplaces, and requirements that help protect children from inappropriate content and scams.

While these security measures do not eliminate the new risks, they are essential to Apple’s work to ensure iOS remains the best and most secure mobile platform available in Brazil. Apple will continue to work with regulators to strengthen protections for iOS users.

New options for developers to distribute apps on iOS in Brazil

The App Store – where every app is reviewed to meet high standards of privacy and security – remains the best place for iOS users in Brazil to discover and download the apps they love. This includes App Store features that protect users from fraud and scams and empower parents to ensure their children have age-appropriate experiences.

Under the agreement with CADE, developers will also have the option to distribute iOS apps in Brazil through app marketplaces alternative to the App Store. Alternative app marketplaces will need to be authorized by Apple and meet ongoing requirements to serve developers and users. However, apps downloaded outside the App Store do not benefit from the same protections that Apple provides through App Review, creating new risks of apps that contain scams, fraud, and abuse, or expose users to illegal, offensive, or harmful content not allowed in the App Store.

To mitigate some of these new risks, Apple will conduct a basic review called Notarization, which applies to all iOS apps and focuses on basic functionality and protecting users from serious threats. This notarization process involves a combination of automated checks and human review, ensuring that apps function as promised and are free of known malware, viruses, or other security threats. However, notarization is less comprehensive than the App Review process that applies to all apps in the App Store.

New payment options in App Store apps on iOS

In the App Store, users in Brazil can continue to use Apple In-App Purchase to purchase digital goods and services, manage subscriptions, request refunds, and view their payment history.

As part of the agreement with CADE, Apple will share tools that allow developers to offer users more ways to purchase digital goods and services in apps on the App Store. For their iOS apps distributed on the App Store in Brazil, developers can include an alternate payment processing method in their app and/or link users to a website to complete a transaction.

These alternative payment options are always presented alongside Apple In-App Purchase, so users in Brazil are clear when transacting through Apple. When users choose to pay with Apple In-App Purchase, they continue to receive familiar protections and tools, such as refund support, subscription management, and Report a Problem. App Store users’ purchase history and subscription management only show transactions made using Apple In-App Purchase.

For apps that use alternative payment processing or that connect users to the internet for transactions, Apple will not be able to provide refunds and will have less ability to support customers who encounter issues, scams or fraud. Users may need to share their payment information with additional parties, which could introduce new privacy and security risks.

Updated business terms for iOS apps in Brazil

To reflect these app distribution and payment processing options, Apple is also sharing updated terms of business for iOS apps from developers in Brazil. These business terms reflect the many ways Apple creates value for developers’ apps, whether they use the App Store and/or Apple In-App Purchase.

According to the business terms for iOS apps in Brazil, Apple will continue to charge commissions only on sales of digital goods and services. The new terms include:

Under these new business terms, developers who sell digital goods and services in Brazil will pay Apple the same or less than they do now. Developers who do not sell digital goods and services will not continue to pay Apple any commissions or fees.

Implications for children’s online safety

The App Store is designed to be a safe and trusted place for everyone, including children. It offers a variety of features that allow parents to determine which apps, games and content are suitable for their children, while at the same time providing a safe, fun and enriching experience. Parents can expect apps and games in the Kids category to be age-appropriate, protect children’s data, and use parental controls to restrict certain actions. For added control, parents can enable Ask to Buy to approve purchases and disable Screen Time purchases.

With the changes introduced under the CADE Agreement, the new opportunities for alternative distribution and payment methods may expose children to new risks. For example, apps downloaded from outside the App Store may contain illegal and objectionable content, and will not undergo the same rigorous review process that Apple uses to evaluate apps made for children in the App Store. Similar regulatory changes in Europe and Japan have enabled types of apps that were previously unavailable on iOS, including pornography apps.

In an effort to reduce new risks of fraud or scams targeting children, Apple has worked with regulators in Brazil to maintain a number of guardrails, including:

Developers must also continue to provide age ratings for their apps, regardless of whether their app is distributed on the App Store or an alternative app marketplace.

Apple will continue to innovate to meet evolving risks to children’s online safety by building on the powerful tools and features it makes available today – such as child accounts, web content filters, app restrictions, monitoring tools such as Screen Time and Family Sharing, Communication Safety and Communication Limits – that help parents control who their children communicate with and protect them from inappropriate content.