Japan’s App Store opens to alternative payment systems and stores with child protections

Apple has also done changes to the iOS app store in Japan to comply with a new law that allows developers to distribute in alternative stores and make payments with external systems while maintaining safety levels and child protections.

The changes made to the App Store arrive with iOS 26.2 and follow the entry into force this week of the Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act (MSCA) which, like the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), calls for openness.

Under this new law, iOS application developers can distribute their programs in alternative stores and use payment systems other than those offered by the App Store, also for internal purchases.

Although it is the same as what has been done in the European Union, the approach is not the same. As a spokesperson told Bloomberg, the DMA has forced them to make changes that create a more confusing experience and introduce greater risks, such as the order to make technology compatible, since that can expose confidential data.

Still, Apple also warns that the changes made in Japan also expose users to threats, such as malware, fraud and abuse, as well as privacy and security risks.

To mitigate them, it has worked with the Japanese authorities to offer “the best and safest experience to users” in the Asian country, as stated in a press release. To do this, it has focused on three fronts: the distribution of applications outside the App Store, new payment options and child safety.

ALTERNATIVE STORES

Developers who wish to do so can distribute their iOS applications in stores other than the App Store. By opting for this possibility, your programs no longer have the more exhaustive review that Apple does.

Instead, they have to pass a notarization process, a more basic reviewalso present in the European Union, which combines automated controls and a human team to ensure that applications work correctly and protect users from threats such as ‘malware’, viruses and other known security threats.

MORE PAYMENT OPTIONS

Developers who distribute ‘apps’ within the App Store have the possibility of including alternative payment methods, links that allow users to make payments on websites, or both. In this way, users will be able to choose the method of their delivery.

However, only ‘apps’ that use Apple’s own payment systems will maintain refund support, subscription management, and the ability to report a problem. Additionally, App Store purchase history and subscription management only reflect payments made with Apple in-app purchases.

CHILD SAFETY

Apple warns that new distribution options and alternative payment methods can expose children to new threats, including a new type of application, that of pornographic content, as it says has happened in Europe.

To avoid this exposure, Apple has made ‘Children’ category a la App Store cannot include links to external websites that carry out transactions payment, in order to avoid abuse and fraud directed at the little ones.

Parents must have control that allows them intervene before the minor makes a purchase if the ‘app’ uses alternative payment systems or links to websites for the transaction, a measure that is established for all applications aimed at minors under 18 years of age. Applications aimed at children under 13 years of age cannot link to websites that carry out payment transactions.

These protections exempt developers from establishing age restrictions on their applications, regardless of whether they distribute them in the App Store or in alternative stores.