I investigated the claim that Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to require apps to disclose and obtain explicit permission before sharing personal data with third-party AI services. I found that this is definitely true. On November 13, 2025, Apple released an update to its App Review Guidelines, specifically amending rule 5.1.2(i) to explicitly mandate user consent for any data shared with a "third-party AI."
I found the official release notes from Apple documenting the changes made to their guidelines. The post explicitly lists the update to rule 5.1.2(i), stating that developers must "clearly disclose where personal data will be shared with third parties, including with third-party AI, and obtain explicit permission before doing so."
https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=ey6d8onl
The original article by Sarah Perez accurately reports on the primary source material. It highlights that while previous rules covered general data sharing for broad privacy compliance, Apple purposefully updated the language to single out the growing use of third-party AI models.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/13/apples-new-app-review-guidelines-clamp-down-on-apps-sharing-personal-data-with-third-party-ai/
Apple has a strong corporate interest in branding itself as the ultimate protector of consumer privacy. Because Apple is rolling out its own native AI integrations, restricting third-party AI access to user data could be viewed as a strategic business move to disadvantage external competitors under the umbrella of user safety. The strongest evidence is Apple's own official Developer News release detailing the exact text change to rule 5.1.2(i). Additionally, publicly visible App Store rejection notices posted by developers on Apple's official forums confirm that Apple is actively enforcing this specific AI data-sharing rule in practice. There is no evidence undermining the core claim. The policy change is a matter of public record and is actively dictating which apps are approved for the App Store.
