Apple’s EU App Store can show a warning when an app uses a developer-run or third-party checkout for digital purchases. The warning drew widespread attention on May 15, 2025, but Apple told TechCrunch that the disclosure screens had been live since March 2024, when its Digital Markets Act (DMA) compliance plan began. What users noticed was therefore not necessarily a new feature; broader app adoption, rollout differences, or a widely shared screenshot may have made an existing disclosure more visible.
What the warning means
The warning concerns who processes a digital purchase, not necessarily where the app came from. An app can still be downloaded from Apple’s App Store while sending you to the developer’s website or another payment provider for a subscription, premium feature, virtual item, digital content, software function, or membership.
That is different from alternative app distribution. Sideloading or downloading from another marketplace concerns how the app itself is installed. Apple’s EU payment disclosure can appear in an App Store-distributed app.
Where Apple may disclose it
Apple’s current documentation says an eligible app may show:
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- An informational banner on its App Store product page.
- A notice on the download confirmation sheet.
- A StoreKit system disclosure sheet before an external purchase, explaining that the transaction is with the developer rather than Apple.
Developers can optionally suppress repeated system disclosure sheets after a user has seen one. The exact wording and design can vary by app entitlement, storefront, iOS or iPadOS version, device, and rollout. Reports in May 2025 showed a red triangle with an exclamation mark, text referring to Apple’s “private and secure” payment system, and a “Learn More” link; that observed design is not proof that every EU app displays an identical screen. (Apple Developer; MacRumors)
Why users thought Apple had just launched it
Reports appeared on May 15, 2025, including an example involving Hungarian car-valuation app Instacar. Apple told TechCrunch that the screens had existed since March 2024. Visibility could have changed as more developers adopted Apple’s external-purchase entitlement or as App Store rollouts reached additional accounts.
TechCrunch also reported that Apple had proposed a less aggressive design in August 2024, replacing the red warning icon with a gray information icon. The existing screen remained in use absent further guidance from the European Commission. (TechCrunch)
What Apple no longer handles for an external transaction
Apple says its normal commerce systems do not cover a purchase completed outside In-App Purchase. Depending on the transaction, users may not receive:
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- An App Store purchase-history entry.
- Apple subscription-management controls.
- Family Sharing or Ask to Buy.
- Report a Problem workflows or Apple support for fraud, scams, abuse, and payment disputes.
This does not mean an external checkout is automatically unsafe or fraudulent. It means the developer and its payment provider become responsible for billing, cancellation, refunds, account access, and dispute handling. Before paying, check the domain, HTTPS connection, merchant identity, refund terms, cancellation route, privacy policy, and payment provider.
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Why the DMA permits external payments
The DMA’s anti-steering rule requires Apple to let developers inform customers about alternative offers, direct (“steer”) them to those offers, and allow purchases outside Apple’s payment system. The European Commission says Apple cannot impose restrictions that prevent developers from benefiting fully from those alternatives. (European Commission; EUR-Lex decision)
Why the warning is controversial
Apple presents the disclosure as transparency: Apple is not processing the payment, and its associated protections may not apply. Critics argue that a red, high-alert-looking design and language emphasizing Apple’s security could discourage users from choosing legally permitted alternatives. That is a criticism about the warning’s effect or presentation, not a finding that Apple intentionally deceived users.
What the €500 million fine covered
On April 23, 2025, the Commission fined Apple €500 million for failing to comply with the DMA’s steering obligation. Its decision concerned restrictions on how developers could communicate and promote alternative offers, conditions on destination pages and disclosures, and recurring charges following steering. Apple was ordered to end the non-compliance within 60 calendar days of notification; periodic penalty payments could reach 5% of Apple’s average daily worldwide turnover.
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Which purchases and apps are affected?
The relevant rules focus on digital goods and services consumed in an app. Examples include subscriptions, premium features, virtual goods, digital media, software functionality, and in-app memberships.
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Physical goods, transport, food delivery, tickets, reservations, and other real-world services can follow different platform rules. Not every payment made inside an EU iPhone or iPad app is an Apple In-App Purchase transaction or necessarily triggers this disclosure.
Can developers offer Apple checkout and an external checkout together?
Apple’s current EU documentation says a developer may not offer In-App Purchase while also communicating and promoting offers for digital goods or services in the same app on the same storefront and platform under the alternative model. A developer can later switch back to Apple’s payment processing.
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Consequently, payment flows may differ by country, Apple Account region, platform, or storefront. A developer cannot assume it may simply place Apple’s checkout beside a cheaper external checkout for the same EU storefront.
What developers must implement
- Request the entitlement. Apple identifies the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement for apps that communicate or steer users to external digital purchases.
- Use the disclosure API. The ExternalPurchaseCustomLink API supports the system disclosure sheet shown before an external purchase.
- Report transactions. The External Purchase Server API is used to report transactions for Apple’s fee calculation and collection.
- Meet operational obligations. Developers remain responsible for App Review compliance, contracts and addenda, taxes, consumer law, privacy, payment-provider rules, refunds, fraud, chargebacks, account recovery, and subscription management.
This is not simply a matter of adding a web link. Regional storefront behavior and entitlement rules require testing on the actual supported devices and account regions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What external payments cost developers
Apple’s alternative EU terms do not mean Apple takes no money. The applicable economics can include several separate charges:
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| Cost | Current description in Apple’s EU documentation |
|---|---|
| Digital-goods commission | 10% for the vast majority of developers and certain subscriptions; 17% otherwise under the described alternative terms. |
| Apple payment processing | An additional 3% when Apple’s payment processing is used under the alternative terms. |
| Core Technology Fee | €0.50 per first annual install above one million for qualifying high-volume apps, subject to applicable thresholds and terms. |
| Core Technology Commission | 5% on certain sales communicated and promoted through apps using the external-purchase-link entitlement, beginning June 26, 2025. |
| Other costs | The developer’s payment-provider fee, taxes, currency conversion, fraud losses, chargebacks, support, and billing infrastructure. |
Apple’s fee programs have changed repeatedly. Developers should calculate the applicable terms for their platform, date, region, volume, and sales route rather than describe an external checkout as “commission-free.” (Apple Developer)
A realistic comparison
The useful calculation is:
Apple commission + Apple processing fee + Core Technology exposure + payment-provider fee + tax or merchant-of-record cost + chargebacks + engineering and support.
A direct processor may offer checkout control but leave the developer responsible for tax, refunds, fraud, and subscription logic. A merchant-of-record service may simplify tax and billing administration at a higher overall price. Subscription infrastructure can coordinate entitlements without replacing Apple’s entitlement and reporting requirements.
What consumers should do when the notice appears
- Confirm that the app is the expected developer’s official app.
- Inspect the checkout domain before entering payment details.
- Read who the merchant is and where refunds must be requested.
- Find the cancellation and subscription-management instructions before purchasing.
- Use a payment method with suitable fraud and dispute protections.
- Keep the receipt and note that the transaction may not appear in Apple purchase history.
The notice is a payment disclosure, not an Apple determination that the app is malicious. Treat an unfamiliar domain or unclear merchant terms as a reason to stop, but do not infer that every external payment is fraudulent.
Quick Recap
Current status
Status checked: August 18, 2026. Apple’s current developer documentation continues to describe EU App Store banners, download disclosures, system disclosure sheets, external transaction reporting, and alternative EU fee structures. The public controversy dates to May 2025, while Apple said the underlying disclosure screens had been present since March 2024.
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