Apple to waive off developer fees for government and nonprofits in 2018

Apple has announced new App Store guidelines that affect apps created from a commercialized template.

As TechCrunch notes, Apple in early 2018 will waive the $99 developer fee for governments and nonprofits starting with the US to make the transition easier. This means that institutions will be able to submit apps without having to pay $99 per year to be a member. The fee will still apply to commercial businesses and individual app entrepreneurs. Nonprofits can already collect donations using free-to-download App Store apps and avoid the 30 percent In-App Purchase fee which is usually mandatory for application developers.

Previously, a single company could publish 50 apps for 50 different nonprofits under its own developer account. These services can mass produce apps very cheaply as they largely rely on the same appearance and behaviors, with minor white-labeling tweaks such as using the specific client’s logo and calendar info.

With the new changes, the service will no longer be allowed to submit all of the apps it makes under its own name. They will have to be published under unique developer accounts owned by the client companies and charities. Today, these nonprofits would have to pay Apple at least $99 per year in order to own a developer account.