A revision to the terms and conditions of Apple's App Store has sparked concern that the company could stomp out a side market of applications that promote other apps.
The change to Apple's terms and conditions was highlighted on Monday by Pocketgamer.biz, which noted that clause 2.25 "appears to give Apple carte blanche to put any app that promotes titles from a different developer out of action."
The new addition to the App Store terms states that "Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected."
Exactly what constitutes "confusing" promotion of applications to Apple remains to be seen, but the change has caused concern that some businesses built on promoting applications, like "FreeAppADay," could be affected.
Monday's report claimed it's "already accepted" that Apple wants to restrict app promotion services in an effort to "maintain the legitimacy of the App Store charts." However, for now, app promotion services appear unaffected by the change in terms and conditions.
This year, Apple has made considerable changes to the iOS App Store in an effort to improve navigation and discoverability. Most notably, the App Store received a new look with the launch of iOS 6 last month.
Search results have also been overhauled thanks to Apple's acquisition of app search engine Chomp. When searching for options on the App Store, downloads are now shown in tiles rather than simply a list.