Apple gets festive and enables the gifting of in-app purchases on iOS

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Perhaps inspired by the festive season, Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines to give developers the option of allowing in-app purchases to be gifted to other iOS users, as reported by MacRumors.

Under the revised guidelines, "Apps may enable gifting of items that are eligible for in-app purchase to others," further stating that "such gifts may only be refunded to the original purchaser and may not be exchanged". 

That's quite a difference from the previous version of the guidelines, which specifically stated that "apps should not directly or indirectly enable gifting of in-app purchase content, features, or consumable items to others". 

It may seem like a small change, but just think of how popular the feature will likely be this holiday season – we imagine many kids would rather receive Fortnite V-Bucks over the usual socks and sweaters this Christmas. 

At present, it's unknown just how the gifting of in-app purchases will work, though it's likely to be similar to the current system for gifting paid apps, which can be done directly from the App Store. 

• Top Christmas gifts for iPhone and iPad fans

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