Apple on October 16, 2026 published a revised edition of its App Review Guidelines that adds a new rule, numbered 2.3.14, governing the creative assets that will appear in App Store search results and product page headers, and that bars those assets from showing specific or discounted prices. The same changelog, posted to Apple's developer news feed under the title "Updated App Review Guidelines are now available," lists six other edits, including a rewrite of the external purchase link rules in 3.1.1(a) and a new guideline 2.5.19 on hidden features.

In Short

Apple has a rulebook that every app in its store must follow, and on October 16 it added a new chapter about the large promotional images and videos that apps will soon be able to show in App Store search results. Those images cannot advertise a price or a discount, cannot make claims Apple cannot check, and must be suitable for every age. Apple also quietly tidied its rules on linking to outside payment pages and posted a second, separate announcement that only described three of the seven changes.

Two posts, one update

Apple published two items in its developer news feed on October 16, 2026, and both point to the same revised guidelines page, which carries the stamp "Last Updated: October 16, 2026."

The first, "Updated App Review Guidelines are now available," is the changelog. According to Apple, the guidelines "have been revised to support new features, updated policies, and to provide clarification." It lists seven items: Before You Submit, 1.2, 2.3.14, 2.5.19, 3.1.1(a), Section 5 and After You Submit.

The second, "Strengthening App Review Guidelines against nonconsensual intimate imagery and bait-and-switch apps," is a longer explanatory post. It covers only three of the seven: 1.2, 2.5.19 and Section 5. It says nothing about creative assets, the purchase link entitlements or the added documentation links. It also carries figures absent from the changelog: according to that post, Apple last year "prevented over 150K apps with safety issues from reaching customers and terminated over 193K developer accounts for engaging in fraud and abuse."

So the two posts describe one set of edits, not two. The difference is in what each chose to explain. The safety post frames the update around nudification apps and bait-and-switch behaviour. The changelog, which is the complete list, gives as much weight to a new marketing format and a payments clause as it does to child exploitation.

Neither post gives an effective date. Neither publishes a redline. According to the changelog, "Translations of the updated guidelines will be available on the Apple Developer website within one month," which means non-English versions of the guidelines may lag the English text until mid-November.

Guideline 2.3.14: creative assets

The only wholly new rule in the changelog that is not a relocation of existing policy is 2.3.14. Apple's changelog describes it in six words: "New guideline covering creative assets."

The text on the guidelines page is longer. "Creative assets allow you to highlight the value of your app in new ways compared to app-in-use screenshots and preview videos, and can be used across the App Store, including the product page header and in search results," it reads.

The rule then sets four conditions and a list of exclusions. Creative assets "must pertain to your app's content and functionality or overarching brand, follow standard metadata guidelines, and be appropriate for all audiences." They "should not include inappropriate content, references to other apps with an intent to mislead, unverifiable product claims, or specific or discounted pricing information." The guideline closes by pointing developers to "App Store asset best practices for detailed guidance on acceptable recommendations."

What the format is

Creative assets are not new to PPC Land readers. Apple previewed the format at WWDC26 on June 8, 2026, and on August 5 published best practices and templates, which PPC Land covered in Apple forces 4+ rating on App Store creative assets arriving this fall. That guidance described a class of marketing images and videos distinct from screenshots and app previews, which Apple said "show an app or game in use." Creative assets, by contrast, can carry a brand, a seasonal offer or new content.

According to that August guidance, the format appears in product page headers, search results on the App Store and in the Apple Games app, custom product pages, In-App Events and Apple Ads campaigns on the Today tab and in search results. It was scheduled to launch with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 in the fall, alongside an Asset Library and a product page preview tool.

What changed on October 16 is the status of those rules. Until now, the constraints on creative assets lived in a best-practices document. Guideline 2.3.14 moves the core of them into the App Review Guidelines themselves, where a breach is grounds for rejection rather than a missed recommendation.

How 2.3.14 compares with the August guidance

The two sets of rules overlap without matching word for word.

The August best practices, as reported by PPC Land, said that "Assets displayed on the App Store must meet a 4+ age rating," even for apps rated higher. Guideline 2.3.14 uses different words: assets must "be appropriate for all audiences." The 4+ figure does appear on the guidelines page, but in 2.3.8, the older rule on metadata, which says icons, screenshots and previews must "adhere to a 4+ age rating even if your app is rated higher." Because 2.3.14 also requires assets to "follow standard metadata guidelines," the 4+ standard reaches creative assets through that cross-reference rather than by name.

The pricing rule is also narrower in the guideline than in the best practices. August's guidance excluded specific pricing, discounts, website URLs, copyright symbols, unverifiable awards, logos of rival platforms and Apple-designated recognitions such as Editor's Choice and App of the Day. Guideline 2.3.14 names only "specific or discounted pricing information" and "unverifiable product claims." URLs, copyright symbols and Apple's own editorial badges are not mentioned in the guideline text. They remain in the best-practices document to which 2.3.14 refers.

The guideline also adds a condition that was not prominent in August: creative assets cannot contain "references to other apps with an intent to mislead." That qualifier matters. A plain reference to another app is not barred by 2.3.14; a misleading one is. Guideline 2.3.7 separately bars developers from packing metadata with "popular app names," and 2.3.10 bars "names, icons, or imagery of other mobile platforms or alternative app marketplaces."

One question PPC Land raised in August remains open: where App Review will draw the line between an asset about the app's "overarching brand" and one that is unrelated to the app. The October 16 text allows brand content but does not define it.

Why it matters for app marketers

The App Store is an advertising market as well as a distribution channel. Apple began inserting additional ad positions into App Store search results on March 3, 2026, starting in the UK, with all other Apple Ads markets due by the end of March. That PPC Land report cited Apple data showing nearly 65% of downloads occur directly after a search. Creative assets will sit in those same search results, and they can be used in Apple Ads campaigns.

For a user acquisition team, the prohibition on discounted pricing removes one of the most common levers in performance creative. A "50% off annual plan" overlay, routine in display and social campaigns, is not permitted in a creative asset. Seasonal offers are allowed, according to Apple's August guidance; a price attached to them is not. The distinction is fine, and its enforcement will be visible only once submissions are reviewed at scale.

Apple's earlier move to tie custom product pages to Apple Search Ads already allowed advertisers to match landing pages to keywords. Creative assets extend that matching to the search result itself, under rules that are now part of App Review rather than separate from it.

Guideline 3.1.1(a): one entitlement absorbed into another

The second change with commercial weight is in 3.1.1(a), the rule on linking out of an app to other purchase methods. According to the changelog, Apple "Removed bullet point on Music Streaming Services Entitlements, which is now incorporated in the bullet point on StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlements; clarified that links may be provided to a permitted destination."

The revised text opens: "Developers may apply for entitlements to provide a link in their app to a permitted destination in order to purchase digital content or services. These entitlements are not required for developers to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action in their United States storefront apps."

The single remaining bullet, headed "StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlements," now reads that apps "in specific regions may offer in-app purchases and also use a StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement or, where permitted, a Music Streaming Services Entitlement to include a link to a permitted destination that informs users of other ways to purchase digital goods or services. Approved destinations may vary by region."

What actually changed

Three points stand out. The Music Streaming Services Entitlement has not been abolished. It is still named in the text, still available "where permitted," and now sits as an alternative inside the StoreKit bullet rather than in a bullet of its own. The changelog's word "removed" refers to the bullet, not to the entitlement.

The second point is the phrase "permitted destination," which appears three times across the paragraph. The changelog says Apple "clarified that links may be provided to a permitted destination," and the text adds that "Approved destinations may vary by region." Neither document defines what makes a destination permitted. The guideline refers developers to separate entitlement documentation, which was not part of the materials Apple published with the update.

The third point is the continued carve-out for the United States. The text says the prohibition on buttons and external links that steer customers to other payment methods applies "In all other storefronts, except for the United States storefront, where this prohibition does not apply." The same US exemption appears in 3.1.3 and in 3.1.3(a), the rule for reader apps. That carve-out traces back to litigation PPC Land followed closely: on April 30, 2025, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers held Apple in civil contempt in the Epic Games case, ordering it to stop charging commission on purchases made outside the app and to stop restricting the design of external links.

The guideline also retains a penalty clause specific to the entitlements: "If your app engages in misleading marketing practices, scams, or fraud in relation to the entitlement, your app will be removed from the App Store and you may be removed from the Apple Developer Program."

The regulatory backdrop

Link-out rules have been rewritten repeatedly since 2024. Apple first allowed US apps to link to external purchases in January 2024. Its first round of EU changes under the Digital Markets Act followed later that month, and in August 2024 it expanded external purchase links in the EU. On August 18, 2026, Apple replaced the EU per-install fee with a 5% Core Technology Commission, and set a 15% store services commission, or 10% at the reduced tier, on linked-out sales completed within seven days of a tap. Those terms took effect on October 1, 2026, and superseded the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement (EU) Addendum.

Against that history, the October 16 edit reads as consolidation: two regional entitlements described in one paragraph, under one label. The changelog does not say whether the commercial terms behind the Music Streaming Services Entitlement have changed. Nothing in the guidelines text suggests they have, but the guidelines do not carry commission rates in the first place.

The three safety changes, as each post describes them

Guidelines 1.2, 2.5.19 and Section 5 are the subject of the longer safety post. The changelog's descriptions of the same three edits are shorter and, in places, framed differently.

Guideline 1.2

The changelog says Apple "Clarified app content and app types that are subject to this guideline, and potential Developer Code of Conduct violation for failing to implement appropriate safeguards or remediating violations after notice." It does not mention nonconsensual intimate imagery or AI.

The safety post leads with exactly those two things. According to it, content moderation requirements "now explicitly cover nonconsensual intimate imagery - including imagery generated using AI tools - as content that apps must proactively prevent and remove."

The guidelines page sits between the two. Guideline 1.2 now covers "Apps that enable users to create, generate, upload, share, or otherwise contribute content," and it names "intellectual property infringement, nonconsensual intimate imagery, and anonymous bullying" as the challenges. It lists "social media, user-generated content platforms, and AI content creation apps" as covered app types. The page does not contain the phrase "imagery generated using AI tools," and it does not use the word "proactively." The duty it sets is to include "A method for filtering objectionable material from being posted," a reporting mechanism, user blocking and published contact information. The AI dimension in the text comes from the app types named, not from a description of the imagery, which is how the safety post presents it. For user-generated content platforms that also host image generation, the practical effect is the same; the wording is not.

On consequences, the page says developers who fail to implement safeguards or remediate violations "may be considered in violation of the Developer Code of Conduct." The safety post says such developers "risk violating the Developer Code of Conduct and being removed from the App Store." The removal language exists on the page, but in the surrounding sentences, not in the Code of Conduct sentence.

Guideline 2.5.19

Here the two posts describe the same rule in visibly different terms. The changelog says the new guideline "clarifies long-standing policy on hidden, dormant, or undocumented features, formerly covered in Guideline 2.3.1." The safety post describes 2.5.19 as a prohibition on apps "misrepresenting what they do during the App Review process and then changing after approval - for example, adding features or functionality that weren't included in the version of the app that was submitted."

The published text follows the changelog more closely. "Don't include any hidden, dormant, or undocumented features in your app; your app's functionality should be clear to end users and App Review," it reads. "Attempting to hide undocumented features in your app binary, such as through code obfuscation or other methods, is grounds for removal of your app from the App Store and termination of your developer account." The phrase "bait-and-switch" does not appear in 2.5.19.

Penalties differ between the two posts as well. The safety post says offending apps are "subject to removal from the App Store and removal from the Apple Developer Program." The page says "termination of your developer account." Those are close but not identical: a developer account is one thing, and the Apple Developer Program, which 2.3.1(b) and Section 3 also reference, is another.

The changelog's note that the policy was "formerly covered in Guideline 2.3.1" is the only place either post records the move. On the October 16 page, 2.3.1 is split into (a) and (b) and no longer mentions hidden features. Guideline 2.3.1(a) still requires that "All new features, functionality, and product changes must be described with specificity in the Notes for Review section of App Store Connect."

Section 5

On Section 5, the two posts agree. The changelog says Apple "Clarified that apps found to facilitate human trafficking and/or the exploitation of children will be removed from the App Store and blocked from alternative distribution." The safety post says the same, and adds that the category includes child sexual abuse material. The page's introduction to Section 5 reads: "In extreme cases, such as apps that are found to facilitate human trafficking and/or the exploitation of children, appropriate authorities will be notified and the apps will be removed from the App Store and blocked from alternative distribution." Neither post says whether the notification of authorities is new wording or was already present.

The phrase "blocked from alternative distribution" matters because of the EU. Since the Digital Markets Act opened iOS to alternative marketplaces, App Store removal no longer guarantees that an app disappears from iPhones. The General Court of the EU on July 8, 2026 upheld Apple's gatekeeper designation for the App Store and iOS. Apple's notarization process, which applies to apps distributed outside the App Store, is the mechanism through which such a block would operate.

Before You Submit and After You Submit

Two of the seven changelog entries are identical: "Added links to additional documentation," for both Before You Submit and After You Submit. In the PDF capture of the page, the links themselves are not visible, so which links are new cannot be determined from the published material.

What the page does show is the documentation now listed under Before You Submit: developer documentation for SwiftUI, UIKit, AppKit, app extensions, iCloud backup and the Apple File System; App Store Connect Help, App Review Help and Developer Account Help; the Human Interface Guidelines; and four sets of brand guidelines, covering marketing resources, Apple Pay, Add to Apple Wallet and Apple trademarks. The After You Submit section ends each of its seven paragraphs, from Timing to Bug Fix Submissions, with a "Learn more" reference to separate documentation.

Why this update matters

For most of 2026, the App Review Guidelines have moved in step with Apple's product calendar. The November 13, 2025 revision PPC Land covered in Apple tightens App Store age controls and data sharing disclosure added age restriction requirements for creator apps and a rule requiring disclosure of personal data shared with third-party AI systems. In July, Apple set a 13+ minimum rating for apps with social media features, mandatory from September. On October 13, three days before this update, Apple revised its Developer Program License Agreement to add group and volume purchases.

The October 16 edition continues that pattern, with one difference in presentation. Apple chose to publicise the safety changes in a dedicated post with enforcement statistics, and left the marketing and payments changes in a bulleted changelog. That choice has consequences for how the update is read. A developer who saw only the safety post would not know that a new rule governs the most prominent ad format Apple is adding to its store this year.

For marketers buying App Store inventory, 2.3.14 is the change with direct effect. It sets the rules for creative that will appear alongside, and inside, paid search placements. For subscription businesses, the 3.1.1(a) rewrite matters less for what it changes than for what it leaves undefined: a "permitted destination" whose approval criteria sit outside the guidelines. For trust and safety teams at platforms hosting generated content, the 1.2 wording now names their app type explicitly. And as PPC Land's coverage of Apple's brief removal of Telegram in August showed, App Store enforcement on user content can move faster than the developer's own response.

Timeline

Summary

Who: Apple, through its developer news feed and App Review Guidelines page, affecting app developers, subscription businesses, user acquisition teams and advertisers buying Apple Ads inventory in App Store search results.

What: A revised edition of the App Review Guidelines with seven listed changes: a new guideline 2.3.14 governing creative assets, which must suit all audiences and cannot show specific or discounted prices or unverifiable claims; a rewrite of 3.1.1(a) that folds the Music Streaming Services Entitlement into the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlements bullet and adds the term "permitted destination"; a new guideline 2.5.19 on hidden features, moved from 2.3.1; revised wording in 1.2 and Section 5; and added documentation links in Before You Submit and After You Submit. A separate Apple post described only three of the seven changes, with wording that differs from the published guidelines on 1.2 and 2.5.19.

When: October 16, 2026, the date on both Apple posts and on the guidelines page. Translations are due within one month. No effective date was given.

Where: The App Store worldwide, with the 3.1.1(a) entitlements limited to specific regions and a standing exemption from the link-out prohibition for the United States storefront; Section 5 enforcement extends to alternative distribution, which applies in the EU.

Why: According to Apple, the revisions "support new features, updated policies, and to provide clarification." The new feature is creative assets, which arrive with iOS 27 in App Store search results and product page headers; the payments edit consolidates entitlements reshaped by US litigation and EU regulation since 2024.