Apple Now Rejects Apps With Names That Include Price Information

Putting the price in the name of an item is just one way companies try to lure in potential customers, but app developers making their products available in Apple’s App Store will no longer have that option: The tech giant has begun barring developers from promoting the price of their apps in names or screenshots.

VentureBeat reports that Apple’s iTunes Connect service, which reviews apps before they appear in the App Store, has blocked submissions that include price information in names for at least a month.

While Apple has long discouraged the use of pricing information in metadata for app — names and descriptions — this marks the first time the company has outright rejected developers for using such ploys.

What’s this mean? If a developer submits an app named, for example “Find Cute Kittens — Free Locator,” the creator could receive a rejection letter asking them to remove mentions of price from names and suggestions on where to include that information elsewhere.

According to VentureBeat the full rejection letter reads:

“Your app’s name, icons, screenshots, or previews to be displayed on the App Store include references to your app’s price, which is not considered a part of these metadata items.

Please remove any references to your app’s price from your app’s name, including any references to your app being free or discounted. If you would like to advertise changes to your app’s price, it would be appropriate to include this information in the app description. Changes to your app’s price can be made in the Pricing and Availability section of iTunes Connect.”

A spokesperson for Apple confirmed the change, but did not provide additional details, including if the change would apply to apps currently offered in the App Store.

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