Apple has updated its App Store rules, clarifying the ban on applications that conceal their true capabilities from moderators. These changes may affect Russian banks, including Sber, T-Bank, and Alfa-Bank, which previously released disguised iPhone applications to circumvent sanctions.
This refers to a scheme where an application initially appears as a regular service, such as a directory or financial assistant, and then transforms into a full-fledged banking application after Apple's approval. This approach allows services removed due to sanctions to temporarily return to the App Store.
In the new clause 2.5.19, the company specifically prohibited hidden, inactive, and undocumented features. If a developer intentionally conceals the application's capabilities or adds them after passing review, the program may be removed from the store, and their account may be blocked.
However, such actions were prohibited even before. Now Apple has made the requirements more specific and separately warned about the consequences of their violations. The innovation is not directly aimed at Russian banks, but it may complicate the release of their applications under different names.
For iPhone owners, this means that the usual way of returning banking services to the App Store may become even less accessible. However, Apple has not yet announced new blocks for specific Russian applications.