Apple withdraws the app -contact information from the App Store in the European Union to meet the DSA

The Digital Services Law It began to be applied in August 2023 and is based on legislation that seeks to regulate the largest digital companies in the European Union (EU), as well as guarantee a safer digital space for online services users As social networks, application stores and contents ‘streaming’ platforms, through the protection of their fundamental rights.

One of the guidelines that includes this law is the obligation that technological ones, as is the case of Apple, Verify and show users the contact information of developers that distribute applications in the EU. This information includes data such as your address, telephone number and email, which must be public for consumers.

In this sense, in October last year, Apple began to require the developers considered as merchantswhere appropriate, the developers who obtain some income for their application published in the App Store, which shared your personal information.

He also indicated that those interested had as deadline until last Monday, February 17 to complete its status in the App Store Connect and, thus, comply with the DSA.

Now, Apple has announced that deleted from the app store in the European Union those applications that did not have contact information of the developers, who will remain withdrawn from the application store until the developers complete their data and are verified.

This has been detailed by technology in a statement on its developer website, where it has indicated that the “without a merchant” applications have eliminated until Apple “provides and verifies” said states of merchant.

Likewise, the company recalled that the holders of accounts or administrators of the Apple developers program who have not shared their personal information and want to include it, must enter into App Store Connect to complete your data and meet the DSA.

As a result to this regulation, as detailed by the APPFIGUR MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT Platform and have collected TechCrunch, have been Withdrawn around 135,000 applications from the application store of the EU member states during the last 30 hours.

It must be taken into account that this regulations specifically affect developers considered as merchants. That is, those who obtain income from their application, either because it includes purchases within the ‘app’, because it is a payment application or because it is sponsored by advertising.

Therefore, Not all developers are obliged to share their personal data. For example, an amateur developer who has published an ‘app’ without the intention of marketing it should not be considered as a merchant.

With all this, the developer merchant status information can be found on the application page at the App Storeunder the details of the application, such as age classification and the languages ​​available.