Apple and Google have agreed to make changes to how their app stores operate in the UK after pressure from the Competition and Markets Authority. The move follows the CMA’s decision in October 2025 to designate both companies as holding strategic market status in mobile platforms, a label that gives the regulator new powers to intervene.
The agreement largely mirrors rules already enforced in the European Union, even though the UK is no longer part of it. The CMA says the goal is to make app store processes fairer and more predictable for developers that rely on Apple’s App Store and Google Play to reach users.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is seeking views on a package of commitments from Apple and Google intended to deliver immediate improvements in certainty, transparency and fairness for thousands of UK businesses dependent on app stores to serve their customers. Additional commitments from Apple will deliver a step change in how developers can request interoperable access to the iOS and iPadOS mobile operating systems, giving greater certainty over how they can deliver innovative new products. The commitments will be underpinned by robust monitoring and reporting by the CMA to ensure compliance.
At the centre of the changes is how apps are reviewed and ranked. Apple and Google have committed to reviewing apps in a fair, objective and transparent way, without favouring their own services or disadvantaging rivals. App rankings must also follow the same principle, addressing long standing complaints from developers about inconsistent treatment.
The commitments also cover how developer data is handled. Both companies have agreed to safeguard data collected during the app review process and not use it in ways that could unfairly benefit their own products. For many developers, this has been a major trust issue rather than a technical one.
Apple has also made specific promises around interoperability. Developers in the UK will be able to request access to more iOS features, including technologies linked to digital wallets and other system level capabilities. Apple is not required to approve every request, but it must consider them fairly and objectively under CMA oversight.
The CMA plans to closely monitor how Apple and Google implement these changes. The companies will have to share data on approval rates, review times, complaints, and interoperability requests, with the regulator reporting publicly on its findings. If the commitments are ignored, the CMA says it will move to formal enforcement.
For users, the impact is likely to be subtle. Most of the changes affect how apps are approved and how developers compete behind the scenes. For developers, especially smaller UK studios and fintech firms, the ability to challenge decisions and request deeper system access could be more meaningful.
The CMA has been clear that this is not the end of its work. Commission fees and alternative payment options remain unresolved, with the regulator signalling that further measures are likely. For now, the UK App Store changes mark a first step in applying tougher digital competition rules without immediately resorting to fines or legal action.
