December 17, 2025
PRESS RELEASE
Apple announces changes for iOS in Japan
The changes include new options for developers to distribute apps and process payments, and new protections to help reduce the privacy and security risks that MSCA creates.
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced changes affecting iOS apps in Japan to comply with the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA). These updates create new options for developers to distribute apps on alternative app marketplaces and process app payments for digital goods and services outside of Apple In-App Purchase. As part of these changes, Apple has worked to reduce the new privacy and security risks the law creates to provide the best and safest experience possible for users in Japan.
MSCA’s requirements for alternative app marketplaces and app payments open new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, and privacy and security risks. Apple has worked with Japanese regulators to introduce protections against new threats — including important security measures 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 fraud.
While these safeguards do not eliminate new risks, they are critical to Apple’s work to ensure that iOS remains the best and most secure mobile platform available in Japan. Apple will continue to negotiate with regulators to strengthen protections for iOS users.
Developers can learn about the new features on the Apple Developer Support page and can integrate them into their apps starting today as part of the iOS 26.2 release.
New options for developers to distribute iOS apps in Japan
The App Store—where every app is reviewed to meet the App Store’s high bar for privacy and security—remains the best place for iOS users in Japan to discover and download the apps they love. This includes App Store features that protect users from fraud and scams and allow parents to ensure their children have an age-appropriate experience.
With the new MSCA requirements, developers will also have the option to distribute iOS apps in Japan using alternative app marketplaces other than the App Store. Alternative app marketplaces will need to be authorized by Apple and will need to meet ongoing requirements to serve developers and users. However, apps downloaded outside of the App Store will not benefit from the same protections that Apple provides through App Review, creating new risks for apps that contain fraud, deception, and abuse, or that expose users to illegal, objectionable, or harmful content that is not permitted in the App Store.
To reduce some of these new risks, Apple is conducting a fundamental overhaul — called Notarization — that applies to all iOS apps and focuses on basic functionality and protecting users from serious threats. This notarization process involves a combination of automated and human checks and helps ensure that applications work as promised and do not contain known malware, viruses or other security threats. However, notarization is less comprehensive than the app review process, which applies to all apps in the App Store.
Developers can learn more about running or distributing apps from alternative marketplaces on the new Apple Developer Support page.
New payment options in App Store apps on iOS
In the App Store, users in Japan can continue to use Apple In-App Purchase to purchase digital goods and services, manage subscriptions, request refunds, and view payment history.
To comply with the MSCA, Apple is sharing tools that allow developers to offer users more ways to purchase digital goods and services in apps in the App Store. For their iOS apps distributed on the App Store in Japan, developers will be able to include an alternative payment processing method in their app and/or connect the user to the website to complete the transaction.
These alternative payment options will always be presented with an Apple In-App purchase so that users in Japan are clear when they are transacting through Apple. When users choose to pay with Apple In-App Purchase, they’ll continue to receive familiar protections and tools like refund support, subscription management, and Report a Problem. App Store user purchase history and subscription management will only reflect transactions made using Apple In-App Purchase.
For apps that use alternative payment processing or connect users to a website for transactions, Apple will not be able to offer refunds and will have less ability to support customers who experience problems, fraud or fraud. Users may need to share their payment information with other parties, which may pose new privacy and security risks.
Updated terms and conditions for iOS apps in Japan
To account for these app distribution and payment processing options, Apple is also sharing updated terms of business for iOS developer apps in Japan. These terms and conditions reflect the many ways Apple creates value for developers’ apps, whether or not they use the App Store and/or Apple In-App Purchases.
According to the terms of business for iOS apps in Japan, Apple will continue to charge only a commission for the sale of digital goods and services. The new terms include:
- App Store commissions: iOS apps on the App Store will pay a reduced commission of either 10 percent for the vast majority of developers — including members of the Small Business Program, Video Partner Program, Mini Apps Partner Program, and subscriptions after the first year — or 21 percent on transactions for digital goods and services. App Store commissions reflect the value of the tools, technologies, and services that enable developers to create apps, in addition to the App Store’s distribution, discovery, and ongoing services.
- Apple Payment Processing Fee: In their iOS apps in the App Store, developers can process payments using Apple In-App Purchase for an additional 5%.
- Commission for trade services: iOS apps in the App Store will pay a commission of 15 percent on transactions for digital goods and services made on the website linked by the developer’s app. Developers of the above programs and subscriptions after the first year will pay a reduced rate of 10 percent.
- Core Technology Commission: iOS apps distributed outside the App Store will pay a 5 percent commission on the sale of digital goods and services, including paid apps. The Core Technology Commission compensates Apple for the tools, technologies and services that enable developers to create and share their apps with iOS users.
Under these new business terms, developers who sell digital goods and services in Japan will pay Apple the same or less than they do today. Developers who do not sell digital goods and services will continue to pay no commissions or fees to Apple.
Impacts on Children’s Internet Safety
Apple created the App Store to be a safe place for kids, where parents have the ability to make sure their kids have age-appropriate experiences and have the tools they need to keep their kids safe online. That’s why Apple has created cutting-edge features like age ratings, content and privacy restrictions, content filters, Ask to Buy, and powerful controls that help parents choose how their kids use their devices.
With the changes introduced under the MSCA, new options for alternative distribution and payment methods may expose children to new risks. For example, apps downloaded outside of the App Store may contain illegal and objectionable content and will not be subject to the same rigorous review process Apple employees use to review apps made for children in the App Store. For example, similar regulatory changes in Europe enabled types of apps that were previously unavailable on iOS, including pornographic apps.
In an effort to reduce new risks of fraud or scams targeting children, Apple has worked with regulators in Japan to maintain certain safeguards, including:
- Applications in the Children category on the App Store will not include links to websites to complete transactions to reduce the risk of fraud or scams targeting children.
- For users under 18 years of ageall App Store apps that use alternative payment processing or link to a website for transactions must include a parental gateway that requires younger users to involve their parent or guardian before making a purchase.
- For users under the age of 13, apps from the App Store cannot link to transaction websites to protect against the risk of fraud targeting younger children.
- Apple is also working to provide a new API to alternative payment developers to allow parents to track and approve purchases made outside of Apple In-App Purchases.
Developers must also continue to provide an age rating for their apps, whether their app is distributed in the App Store or an alternative app market.
Apple will continue to innovate to address the evolving risks to children’s online safety by building on the powerful tools and features it’s making available today—like child accounts, web content filters, app restrictions, monitoring tools like screen time and family sharing, communication safety, and communication limits that help parents shape who their children interact with and protect them from inappropriate content.
More updates for iOS
In addition to new app distribution and payment options, Apple introduced additional controls and options for users in Japan with the release of iOS 26.2. These include:
- HAS browser selection screen and experience with choosing a search enginegiving users in Japan new ways to choose their preferred browser and search engine.
- Default controls for navigation apps and app marketplaces.
Through these controls, users can review and modify their choices in Settings at any time.
For developers, in addition to new options for alternative distribution and payment for apps, Apple is sharing tools including:
- New options for browser application developers alternative search engines other than WebKit, with strict security and privacy requirements.
- A new API that allows developers to voice chat applications give users the ability to launch an app using the iPhone’s side button.
- A process requiring interoperability with underlying technologies in iPhone and iOS.
Apple provides detailed resources to help developers understand the options now available for their apps in Japan, accessible from the Apple Developer Support page.
About Apple
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms—iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS—provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and enable people to enjoy breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV. More than 150,000 Apple employees are dedicated to making the world’s best products and leaving the world better than we found it.
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