Apple’s revised wording now states:

4.2.6 Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected unless they are submitted directly by the provider of the app’s content. These services should not submit apps on behalf of their clients and should offer tools that let their clients create customized, innovative apps that provide unique customer experiences.

Another acceptable option for template providers is to create a single binary to host all client content in an aggregated or “picker” model, for example as a restaurant finder app with separate customized entries or pages for each client restaurant, or as an event app with separate entries for each client event.

What does this mean and how does this affect BlueTreeApps?

According to Apple, app developers like BlueTreeApps are “commercial services” that create, or in Apple’s lexicon “generate”, apps on behalf of our clients. Further, app developers “should not submit apps on behalf of their clients” and apps “will be rejected unless they are submitted directly by the provider of the app’s content.”

While it’s fine for businesses and organizations to use a “commercial service,” the service providers should not ultimately publish these apps on their account on behalf of their clients. Instead, Apple wants every app on the App Store to be published by the business or organization behind the app, or the owner of the content and intellectual property.