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The App Store Optimization (ASO) and User Acquisition (UA) rules and guidelines have a new set of front-facing guidelines and rules to work with in any store, coming directly from European Legislation: the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). But how are these European Laws making you reshape your organic and paid strategies in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store? Understanding these shifts is critical for maintaining market presence in the EU.
How is the Digital Markets Act impacting your ASO and UA strategies?
In a nutshell, the DMA has implications regarding payment methods, product availability in third-party stores and on websites, presenting a new level of reshaped legal compliance constraints for stakeholders and Marketing Growth Teams. Here is the disclosure of all the specific elements updated and affected:
Conversion and Payments: Developers are now able to offer alternative billing systems and a permitted external-offer journey through the Google External Offers program (for Android users), as well as through the Apple In-App Purchase paired with the App Store Payment flow for out-of-app offers.
Metadata accuracy: As the apps/games are now available through alternative-distribution sites, this requires a higher level of strict accuracy in the representation of the products (metadata). Avoid misleading screenshots, messaging, or mentions of pricing and/or claiming authority and visibility rankings.
Age rating gates: Google Play and Apple App Store have developed stricter forms regarding the user’s identity and the audiences the developers can reach out to, as updated settings are being put in place.
Distribution availability: ASO is no longer caged in each app store; apps/games are now distributed through third-party stores and alternative marketplaces,as well as from authorized developer websites. Here, web-to-app conversion funnels are accounted for, as these create a new intersection of the Digital Market between website visibility – powered through SEO and SEM – together with the app stores’ landing pages – powered through ASO and UA -, which create new steps outside the usual gatekeeper environments.
Why do web-to-app funnels matter more now than before? This is because users can now navigate from an app directly to a website with an external payment page, which requires the developer identity to be secured and to have clear legal labels.
How to shape your ASO strategy to the Digital Services Act (DSA)?
In summary, the DSA impacts any implication regarding consumer-facing content and requires developers to show more accountability for their products, metadata, and to provide more reliable developer information. Here is the disclosure of all the specific elements updated and affected:
Product-page links: Add URLs on the store listings that redirect users to all the legal labels and marks consistent with the brand, privacy policy, and in-app support experience.
Metadata claims accuracy: This impacts especially apps that are used in commercial interactions, as the DSA creates a framework regarding consumer-facing accountability. Make sure all your claims regarding functionality, pricing, and developer details are in alignment with the law. Keywords should prioritize clear and true claims, avoiding ambiguity, as the store listings are now accessible through multiple websites and third-party platforms, and require a higher level of ownership linked to a commercial entity (the developer identity).
Developer Identity: EU-facing App Store developers – meaning any developer that distributes their apps and/or games in the EU, or that simply face that their store listings will be visible in a EU country even when the product is not available for download – must declare updated developer detailed information: address, phone and email, details that will appear on the product page, making the business identity clearer and further from just a mere legal administration task.
What are the Risks and Penalties of your Growth Strategy not complying with the DSA and the DMA?
If the platform – Google Play Store and/or the Apple App Store – is sanctioned or forced to change its systems, access, and processes, developers that fail to comply with the new rules for their content can be removed or blocked in the EU.
Regarding the DMA, the risk is commercial and operational. If the platform’s alternative billing system and/or external offer implementations are found to be non-compliant, the platform can change API terms, UI flows, break funnels, invalidate payment attribution, or force rework of in-app offers and in-app landing pages.
Summary: How can the Growth Teams (ASO and UA) be affected by the DSA and DMA?
Listing removal or geo-blocking: If the metadata, developer/trader information, or the offers and payment platform routes violate the rules shaped by the DSA and the DMA, the store can suspend or delist the app/game in the EU, erasing your organic visibility and blocking your UA ads and efforts.
Forced funnel redesign: The stores and the EU legislation can enforce actions on payment funnel platforms to change how offers, payment options, and links are shown to users. These may require rapid changes to ASO copy, modifying deep links, and updating the monitoring of payments and revenue.
Reputation and public legal exposure: Misleading and non-transparent identity, pricing, as well as support information can trigger consumer complaints. If these are in misalignment with the DSA and DMA, there will be higher scrutiny and sanctions at the store level.
Do you think you are ready to adapt to the new rules of the DSA and the DMA? Contact us o ensure your apps, games and developer account are ready to not be flagged and penalized by the new EU Legislations.
FAQ
What are the DSA and DMA, and why do they matter for app marketing?
The Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act are EU laws that set new rules for how apps are listed, priced, and distributed. For ASO and UA teams, they affect payment options, metadata accuracy, age gating, and where an app can be discovered outside the traditional app stores.
How does the DMA change in-app payments?
Developers can now offer alternative billing systems and direct users to external payment pages through Google’s External Offers program on Android and Apple’s App Store Payment flow on iOS. This opens up pricing flexibility that wasn’t available before.
What does “distribution availability” mean under the DMA?
Apps are no longer confined to a single app store. The DMA allows distribution through third-party marketplaces and developer websites, which means web-to-app funnels now sit at the intersection of SEO and ASO in a way they didn’t before.
What are the metadata requirements under the DSA?
The DSA requires clear, accurate claims about functionality, pricing, and developer details, plus product-page links to legal information, privacy policy, and support. Ambiguous or misleading metadata carries more risk now that listings are visible across multiple platforms.
Does the DSA require new developer information?
Yes. Any developer whose app is visible in the EU, even if it isn’t available for download there, needs to declare updated contact details, including address, phone, and email, on the product page.
What happens if an app doesn’t comply?
Non-compliant apps risk listing removal or geo-blocking in the EU, forced redesigns of payment funnels, and reputational exposure if pricing or developer information turns out to be misleading.
Is the compliance risk direct or indirect for developers?
It’s mostly indirect for the DSA (the platform is sanctioned first, and developer content can then be affected) and more directly commercial for the DMA, since changes to billing APIs or offer flows can break attribution and revenue tracking.
What should ASO and UA teams do next?
Audit current metadata, pricing claims, and developer information against the new rules, and review payment funnels for anything that depends on App Store or Google Play’s default flows.
