Tag Archive for: rules

TikTok partners with Giphy, new rules for reader apps, Roblox sides with Apple – TechCrunch

/in


Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.

The app industry continues to grow, with a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports. Global spending across iOS, Google Play and third-party Android app stores in China grew 19% in 2021 to reach $170 billion. Downloads of apps also grew by 5%, reaching 230 billion in 2021, and mobile ad spend grew 23% year over year to reach $295 billion.

Today’s consumers now spend more time in apps than ever before — even topping the time they spend watching TV, in some cases. The average American watches 3.1 hours of TV per day, for example, but in 2021, they spent 4.1 hours on their mobile device. And they’re not even the world’s heaviest mobile users. In markets like Brazil, Indonesia and South Korea, users surpassed five hours per day in mobile apps in 2021.

Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours, either. They can grow to become huge businesses. In 2021, 233 apps and games generated over $100 million in consumer spend, and 13 topped $1 billion in revenue. This was up 20% from 2020, when 193 apps and games topped $100 million in annual consumer spend, and just eight apps topped $1 billion.

This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place, with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and suggestions about new apps to try, too.

Do you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters

Reader apps get new rules

Apple app store iOS

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Apple this week announced it will begin to allow a subset of applications sold on its App Store to link to an external website where users can create or manage their accounts with the app developer. The change to Apple’s App Store Review guidelines only applies to what Apple calls “reader” apps — meaning, apps designed primarily to provide access to some sort of digital content, like magazines, books, audio, music or video. Apple’s…

Source…

Self-Hosting Security Guide for your HomeLab

/in



China drafts rules on security reviews for apps influencing public opinion

/in


A computer network cable is seen above a Chinese flag in this July 12, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (Reuters) – China’s cyber regulatory body issued on Wednesday draft rules governing mobile apps, including a requirement for security reviews of apps whose functions could influence public opinion.

The proposed regulations are part of a campaign run by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) over the past year to increase oversight of the country’s tech companies.

The public has been invited to give feedback on the draft rules by Jan. 20.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

The proposals will require application providers to carry out a security assessment before launching “new technologies, new applications, and new functions” capable of influencing opinion or mobilising the public.

The CAC did not specify any specific apps or outline the security assessment process other than to say it should be carried out in accordance with national regulations.

The proposed rules would apply to “text, picture, voice, video and other information production”, as well as instant messaging, news dissemination, forum communities, livestreaming, and e-commerce, the regulator said.

The regulator added that mobile app providers must not conduct activities that endanger national security, or force users to share non-essential personal information.

News apps must obtain licenses granting permission to publish news, it said.

Over the past year, Chinese authorities have tightened regulations across a number of industries, ranging from gaming to real estate to education.

The CAC has led a number of initiatives targeting the country’s tech sector.

On Tuesday, CAC announced it would implement two new rules. One rule requires platform companies with over 1 million users to undergo security assessments before listing overseas, which would take effect in February. The other rule governs companies’ use of recommendation algorithms, which would take effect in March. read more

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Kim Coghill &…

Source…

Facebook tests App Store rules, Apple fights sideloading, Netflix games go global – TechCrunch

/in


Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.

The app industry continues to grow, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020. Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes using apps on Android devices alone. And in the U.S., app usage surged ahead of the time spent watching live TV. Currently, the average American watches 3.7 hours of live TV per day, but now spends four hours per day on their mobile devices.

Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re also a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus. In 2020, investors poured $73 billion in capital into mobile companies — a figure that’s up 27% year-over-year.

This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and suggestions about new apps and games to try, too.

Do you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters

Google Play to allow support for alternative billing systems in South Korea

Following the passage of the so-called “anti-Google law” in South Korea, Google says it will comply with the new mandate by giving Android app developers on Google Play the ability to offer alternative payment systems alongside Google’s own. The legislation represents the first time a government has been able to force app stores to open up to third-party payment systems for in-app purchases — a change that could impact both app stores’ revenues, as developers look to skirt the tech giants’ commissions.

Image Credits: Google

In a blog post this week, Google says developers in South Korea will be able to add an alternative in-app billing system in addition to Google Play’s billing system for their mobile and tablet users in the country. At checkout, users will be able to choose which billing system they want to use for their purchase. Details for developers about how to…

Source…