Apple updates App Review Guidelines to target data sharing with third-party AI
Apple has revised its App Review Guidelines, explicitly requiring developers to obtain user permission and disclose if personal data will be shared with "third-party AI" companies. This change, which enhances data privacy compliance ahead of Apple's own AI plans, strengthens restrictions on apps that use AI or machine learning systems to collect and process user information.
Apple introduced a new set of App Review Guidelines for developers on Thursday, which now specifically state that apps must disclose and obtain users’ explicit permission before sharing personal data with third-party AI.
This change comes as the iPhone maker prepares to introduce its own AI-upgraded version of Siri in 2026. That update will see Apple’s digital assistant offer users the ability to take actions across apps using Siri commands, and the service will be powered, in part, by Google’s Gemini technology. At the same time, Apple is ensuring that other apps are not leaking personal data to AI providers or other AI businesses.
What is notable about this particular update is that Apple has specifically called out AI companies as needing to come into compliance.
Before the revised language, the guideline known as rule 5.1.2(i) already included language around disclosure and obtaining user consent for data sharing. That rule, which served as part of Apple’s compliance with data privacy regulations like the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and California’s Consumer Privacy Act, noted that apps could not “use, transmit or share” someone’s personal data without their permission. Apps that do not follow this policy can be removed from the App Store.
The newly revised guideline adds the following sentence:
You must clearly disclose where personal data will be shared with third parties, including with third-party AI, and obtain explicit permission before doing so.
This change could impact a wide range of apps that use AI systems to collect or process information about their users, whether to personalize their apps or provide certain functionality.
The updated rule is one of several revisions to the App Review Guidelines released on Thursday. Other changes are focused on supporting Apple’s new Mini Apps Program, as well as tweaks to rules involving creator apps and loan apps. An additional update also included crypto exchanges in the list of apps that provide services in highly regulated fields.
