Provision record
Apple · Apple App Store Review Guidelines · View original document ↗

User contacts may only be contacted at explicit user initiative

High severity Explicitdocumentlanguage Common · 278 of 352 platforms
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Recent Activity

This document changed recently

Medium Jun 9, 2026

The updated guidelines state that developers must ensure kids receive age-appropriate experiences within their apps and must remove user-generated content that violates the guidelines, terms of service, or community standards. Under the revised policy, if Apple identifies policy-violating content, the developer will be asked to remove it and provide a compliance improvement plan. Based on the developer's response, the app may be removed from the App Store until compliance is demonstrated. This establishes a formal escalation pathway where developer inaction or inadequate remediation can result in app suspension or removal.

View change record →

Clause Stability Stable

0
Changes
4
Months Monitored
Jul 10, 2026
First Seen
Jul 10, 2026
Last Seen
This clause type exists across 3333 other provisions on other platforms.

How other platforms handle this

Roblox Medium

Where the law allows us to, we may use the content you and other users have posted for training or to help us to improve the way we filter content on our platform.

Lyft Medium

We may infer certain information from your interactions with the Lyft Platform and other personal information available to us. For example, if you frequently ride to or from airports, we may infer you are a frequent traveler.

Square Medium

we may use this information to make it easier for you to find the people you want to send payments to, for account and identity verification and fraud prevention purposes, to reduce the risk you will send payments to the wrong person, or to provide other personalized services.

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
Do not contact people using information collected via a user's Contacts or Photos, except at the explicit initiative of that user on an individualized basis...

Excerpt from Apple's App Store Review Guidelines

Applicable regulations

EU AI Act
European Union
BIPA
Illinois, USA
CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
COPPA
United States Federal
Colorado AI Act
US-CO
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
ePrivacy Directive
European Union
FCRA
United States Federal
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union
GLBA
United States Federal
HIPAA
United States Federal
TCPA
United States Federal
UK GDPR
United Kingdom

Provision details

Document information
Document
Apple App Store Review Guidelines
Entity
Apple
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
July 9, 2026
Last verified
July 9, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-019077
Document ID
CA-D-00025
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
4757c78422154f6dba5cf35af2a90cf427e5b7c56e974238344df717cb9eb93f
Analysis generated
July 9, 2026 03:44 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Apple
Document: Apple App Store Review Guidelines
Record ID: CA-P-019077
Captured: 2026-07-09 03:44:30 UTC
SHA-256: 4757c78422154f6d…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/apple/apple-app-store-review-guidelines/provision/CA-P-019077/user-contacts-may-only-be-contacted-at-explicit-user-initiative/
Accessed: July 27, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Apple's User contacts may only be contacted at explicit user initiative clause do?

The clause states: “Do not contact people using information collected via a user's Contacts or Photos, except at the explicit initiative of that user on an individualized basis...”

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 278 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Apple?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple.