Incoming App Store policies will not only allow any app to offer a subscription, but in many cases enable developers to gate all of their content behind one, according to Apple.
Users can be immediately greeted with a login screen, MacWorld confirmed with Apple. While that tactic has been allowed for publications and streaming media services in the past -- Netflix being an example -- the same approach will soon be applicable elsewhere, within limits.
Apps in other categories will have to "make sense" in terms of their business model, Apple explained. The company's developer website points out that subscriptions must "provide ongoing value worth the recurring payment" for auto-renewing subscriptions to be deemed justified.
It's unknown how Apple might judge what constitutes "ongoing value," but the rule is presumably in place to safeguard against scams, as well as broader abuse of the system that could discourage people from downloading apps.
The new subscription policies take effect June 13. To encourage adoption, Apple will also be halving its revenue cut from subscriptions to 15 percent for customers that stay signed up for at least a year -- excluding a 60-day window during which a person can cancel and resubscribe and the app developer will still get their improved share.