Course contents
Store rules that changed in 2026
Know the Apple and Google Play rule changes from 2026 that affect a new app: SDK and API deadlines, age ratings, guideline updates, payments, and Android developer verification.
Store rules change every year, and 2026 changed a lot. None of it is hard to comply with if you know it's coming, and almost all of it is painful if you find out from a rejection email. This lesson collects the changes that matter for an app like Tipjar, as of November 12, 2026. Dates and fees drift, so treat it as a map and check Apple's Upcoming Requirements page and Google's Play Console Help before you submit.
Apple: build requirements
- Since April 28, 2026, apps uploaded to App Store Connect must be built with Xcode 26 or later using the iOS 26 SDK (or the matching SDK for other Apple platforms).
- Starting April 2027, iOS and iPadOS apps must be built with the iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 SDK or later. Expo SDK 58 is already built for iOS 27, so staying on a current Expo SDK keeps you ahead of this.
- Since September 9, 2026, iOS and iPadOS apps must target iOS 13 or later.
- Membership is still 99 USD per year, or the local equivalent.
Apple: age ratings
Apple moved every app to a new age rating system in January 2026, and developers had to answer updated questions by January 31, 2026. The iOS 27 cycle added more: if your app has social media capabilities, you declare them, to support new parental Time Allowances. And starting November 16, 2026, the questionnaire adds two content descriptors that every app must answer by January 12, 2027: Shared Location (sharing real-world location with another person or group) and Dating and Relationships, which brings a minimum rating of 18+. In Brazil, Shared Location requires an A16 rating and Dating and Relationships an A18.
Apple: guideline updates on October 16, 2026
| Guideline | What changed |
|---|---|
| 1.2 User-generated content | Moderation duties now explicitly cover nonconsensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated imagery. Failing to put safeguards in place, or to fix violations after notice, can breach the Developer Code of Conduct. |
| 2.3.14 | A new guideline covering creative assets. |
| 2.5.19 | A new guideline on hidden, dormant or undocumented features: an app can't show App Review one thing and switch on different functionality after approval. |
| 3.1.1(a) | Clarified that external purchase links may point to a permitted destination, and folded the music streaming entitlement into the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlements bullet. |
| 5 Legal | Apps that facilitate human trafficking or child exploitation are removed and blocked from alternative distribution. |
Tipjar plans to ship a crypto-tipping tab that's hidden during review and switched on by a remote flag after approval. Which 2026 guideline does that break?
Payments: what changed by region
In-app purchase is still the default for digital features, but the exceptions grew. On Apple's US storefront, apps no longer need an entitlement to include buttons, links or other calls to action that point to buying elsewhere. In the EU, Apple moved all developers to a single set of business terms from October 1, 2026: apps can offer alternative payment options alongside Apple's in-app purchase, and the per-install Core Technology Fee was replaced by a 5% Core Technology Commission on digital transactions in apps distributed outside the App Store. On Google Play, US developers can link out or offer other billing through Google's programs, with transaction reporting and service fees starting October 1, 2026, and new fees from June 30, 2026 in the US, EEA and UK: 10% on the first $1 million of annual earnings and on auto-renewing subscriptions, plus 5% if you use Play's billing.
Google Play: deadlines and identity
- Target API level: since August 31, 2026, new apps and app updates must target Android 16 (API level 36). The extension Google offered ran to November 1, 2026. Existing apps must target Android 15 (API level 35) to stay available to new users on newer devices.
- Testing for new personal accounts: still in force: a closed test with 12 or more testers opted in for 14 continuous days before production access.
- Android developer verification: from September 30, 2026, verification protections apply to users in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand who install apps from participating stores on certified devices running Android 7 or later, and Google plans to expand verification globally in 2027. Google Play registers about 99% of Play apps automatically; apps distributed outside Play register through the Android Developer Console. Students and hobbyists can use limited distribution accounts to share apps with up to 20 devices without a government ID or a fee.
- Registration fee: a one-time US$25.
It's November 12, 2026. Tipjar's Android update still targets API level 35. What happens when you upload it to Google Play?
Put these 2026–2027 store milestones in date order, earliest first.
- Google Play's new service fees start in the US, EEA and UK
- Apple's new EU business terms take effect
- Android developer verification starts in four countries
- Apple requires the iOS 27 SDK for uploads
- Apple's new age rating descriptors must be answered
- Google Play requires API level 36 for new apps and updates
- Apple requires Xcode 26 and the iOS 26 SDK for uploads
Which store does each Tipjar task belong to?
Make sure the developer account is verified so Android installs keep working
A practical habit: ask Codex to check these before each release, with Expo's eas-app-stores skill loaded and the two official pages open, rather than relying on this lesson or on the model's memory. Store policy is exactly the kind of fact that's wrong in a model's training data within months.