The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) secured commitments from Apple and Google to make app review, app ranking and the handling of developer data fairer and more transparent. The commitments took effect on April 1, 2026. Apple also agreed to provide a clearer process for developers seeking access to certain iPhone and iPad features. The package does not cut app-store fees or, by itself, open up alternative app stores or payment systems.
What changed for Apple and Google?
| Area | Apple | |
|---|---|---|
| App review | Committed to fair, objective and transparent review, with clearer processes for decisions and appeals. | Committed to fair, objective and transparent review, with clearer processes for decisions and appeals. |
| App ranking | Committed to fair, objective and transparent ranking, without favouring its own apps over rivals. | Committed to fair, objective and transparent ranking, without favouring its own apps over rivals. |
| Developer data | Committed to safeguards against unfair use of information collected from developers. | Committed to safeguards against unfair use of information collected from developers. |
| Interoperability | Committed to a fair, timely process for developers requesting access to specific iOS and iPadOS functionality. | No equivalent interoperability-request commitment is part of this package. |
| Oversight | The CMA will monitor company reporting on app reviews, appeals, complaints and related outcomes, and publish its findings. | |
The CMA announced proposed commitments on February 10, 2026, invited comments through March 3, and then finalised the commitments. Apple and Google implemented them on April 1, according to the CMA’s final commitments process.
Why the CMA stepped in
The CMA designated Apple’s and Google’s UK mobile platforms as having strategic market status in October 2025 under the UK’s digital-markets regime. The regulator says the App Store is essential for reaching users on Apple devices and Google Play is the main distribution channel for Android users. That position gives each company significant influence over how apps are reviewed, found and brought to customers. The CMA’s designation announcement explains the status.
The stakes extend beyond app publishers. The CMA describes the UK as Europe’s largest app economy by revenue and developer count, estimating that it contributes about 1.5% of UK GDP and supports roughly 400,000 jobs. It points to sectors such as financial services and gaming as areas where app-led innovation matters. Those figures are the CMA’s estimates, not a measure of the effect of these commitments.
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What the commitments require
App review: clearer decisions and routes to challenge them
Apple and Google committed to conduct app reviews fairly, objectively and transparently. The CMA’s description includes clearer expectations about review times, more understandable reasons when an app is rejected, timely notice of changes to review policies and guidelines, and mechanisms for developers to complain or appeal. The companies are also expected to report information such as approval, rejection and appeal rates.
This is a process obligation, not a promise that a disputed app will be approved. Apps still have to meet each platform’s applicable safety, privacy, technical and content rules. The change is that developers should have a clearer basis for understanding and challenging how those rules are applied.
App ranking: fairer treatment, not guaranteed visibility
The companies committed to rank apps fairly, objectively and transparently, without discriminating against competing apps or giving their own services an advantage. They are also expected to provide more transparency about ranking, notify developers about changes to ranking policies and guidelines, and offer channels for ranking complaints.
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Nothing in the commitment guarantees a particular search position, number of downloads or amount of traffic. More information about ranking can help a developer identify and contest a concern, but it does not give the developer a right to outrank competitors.
Developer data: safeguards against unfair competitive use
Apple and Google committed to safeguard information gathered from developers during app review and not use it unfairly to build or improve their own competing apps. The CMA’s description points to transparency about access controls, data separation, relevant products and services, and complaint channels.
For a developer, the practical questions are who can access sensitive information, whether it is separated from teams building competing products, and what happens if the developer believes it has been misused. Monitoring and complaint outcomes will matter more than a general assurance alone.
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Apple interoperability: a way to request access, not automatic access
Apple’s additional commitment is to provide a fair, objective and timely way for developers to request interoperable access to specific iOS and iPadOS features. The process is intended to include a dedicated request channel, clearer assessment criteria, regular updates and communication about new interoperability capabilities.
This could be relevant to developers of financial, payment, identity, accessibility or connected-device services that need deeper integration with Apple devices. It does not require Apple to grant every request or open every system capability; security and privacy considerations remain relevant. Google’s commitments in this package do not include the same form of interoperability process.
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What developers and consumers may notice
For app developers
The most immediate potential benefit is greater procedural certainty: a clearer explanation of a rejection, a way to appeal or complain, more visibility into policy changes, and reporting that lets the CMA examine how the systems operate. Smaller developers may particularly value routes to challenge decisions they otherwise lack the resources to contest. The commitments do not promise them equal commercial prominence or lower operating costs.
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For fintech businesses
Apple’s request process could matter to financial technology companies seeking access to particular device functionality. But it should not be confused with a general opening of Apple Wallet or NFC access. The CMA treats wallet and NFC issues as separate work.
For consumers
Any consumer benefit is likely to be indirect and take time: fairer treatment could help more competing apps reach users or support new services. The commitments do not announce lower app prices or subscriptions, a new app-store choice screen, or immediate changes to how people install apps or pay.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the reforms do not change
- App-store commissions: The commitment package does not set out a reduction or elimination of Apple’s or Google’s commission structures. It should not be read as a fee cut.
- Alternative app distribution: The commitments do not create a general UK right to distribute iPhone apps outside the App Store.
- External payments and steering: Alternative in-app payment systems and the ability to direct users to external payment options are separate matters in the CMA’s wider programme, not outcomes established by this package.
- Digital wallets and NFC: Third-party wallet access and Apple’s NFC functionality are also separate issues.
- Browser engines: Browser competition and alternative browser engines are outside these app-review, ranking and data commitments.
The CMA’s explanation of the commitments and its Apple mobile-platform case page distinguish this package from those wider questions.
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How the CMA will assess compliance
The CMA expects reporting on app approval, rejection and appeal rates; review times; complaints and their outcomes; and, for Apple, interoperability requests, their outcomes and the time taken to process them. It says it will report publicly on its findings. These measures matter because a commitment to fairness is difficult to assess without evidence about how decisions are made and challenged.
The CMA’s approach is to monitor the commitments and may move to more stringent formal conduct requirements if the companies do not comply or the commitments prove ineffective. A voluntary commitment backed by oversight is therefore not the same as a new law that dictates every app-store decision. The regulator has described the possibility of escalation in its policy explanation.
What would show whether the changes are working?
Implementation is not the same as proof of improved outcomes. Useful evidence over time would include:
- Whether review times fall, including for slower or more complex cases.
- Whether rejection explanations give developers actionable reasons.
- How often appeals succeed and whether complaints are resolved.
- Whether the treatment of platform-owned apps differs from that of competitors.
- Whether ranking information helps developers understand decisions, rather than merely adding detail.
- For Apple, how many interoperability requests are approved, rejected or delayed, and why.
- Whether any changes lead to more competing services, better functionality or improved consumer choice.
Transparency alone does not guarantee competition: the companies retain control over their platforms and the rules behind them. The impact will depend on how concrete the information is, whether complaints lead to meaningful remedies and whether CMA monitoring detects problems.
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The commitments are one part of the CMA’s broader programme for mobile platforms, not a final settlement of every dispute. Its published programme includes further work on steering and distribution terms, Apple wallet and NFC access, and browser competition. The status and scope of those initiatives can change separately from the commitments already in force; the CMA’s mobile-platform programme page provides the wider context.
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