We announced in October that Apple made a change to their App Store Guidelines that shook the whole app industry (you can read more about it here: Apple is Changing the App Industry, and We are Ready! (Apple Guidelines 4.2.6). These new guidelines previously released in October, have now changed for the better.
Custom Church Apps has been in multiple conversations with Apple, helping them understand the value of a custom app to faith based ministries. The great news is that Apple has really listened to the feedback they’ve received from us and other industry leaders, and have made some great adjustments and pivots to their App Store Guidelines.
With the latest App Store adjustments, you can still publish your own custom-branded app to the App Store using our platform, and keep it updated with the latest innovations and content we offer!
Another notable change is that now each organization must have their own Apple Developer License , instead of Custom Church Apps submitting your app under our developer license. This currently costs around $99 USD per year. The good news here is that Apple will waive developer fees for nonprofits and governments in 2018 for the first year.
As always, it is our heart and mission to provide ministries with the best tools available to reach today’s mobile generation. Change will always happen, but we will be there with you each step of the way.
Official App Store Guidelines 4.2.6
December 20th, 2017 Apple adjusted their App Store Guidelines, which added much needed clarity on their acceptance of template-based applications.
Before, the 4.2.6 App Store guideline read as follows:
4.2.6 Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected.
The company’s revised wording now states:
4.2.6 Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected unless they are submitted directly by the provider of the app’s content. These services should not submit apps on behalf of their clients and should offer tools that let their clients create customized, innovative apps that provide unique customer experiences.
Another acceptable option for template providers is to create a single binary to host all client content in an aggregated or “picker” model, for example as a restaurant finder app with separate customized entries or pages for each client restaurant, or as an event app with separate entries for each client event.