Apple bans crypto-mining apps from App Store to protect your battery life

Apple wants to protect your iPhone and Mac battery from shady cryptocurrency-mining malware.

The company added new rules to its developer guidelines, which now explicitly prohibit iOS and Mac apps from mining cryptocurrency in the background.

The goal, according to the company, is to protect users' battery life and avoid "unnecessary strain on device resources."

2.4.2 Design your app to use power efficiently. Apps should not rapidly drain battery, generate excessive heat, or put unnecessary strain on device resources. Apps, including any third party advertisements displayed within them, may not run unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining.

Previously, Apple's rules stated that it was "unacceptable" for apps to enable "monetizing built-in capabilities provided by the hardware or operating system" — but didn't explicitly mention cryptocurrency mining.

Crypto mining hasn't been a widespread issue for the App Store, though Apple did yank a calendar app for mining the cryptocurrency Monero in the background even if users disabled the feature.

Apple's not the only platform dealing with the issue of shady apps hijacking users' devices to mine bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in the background. A popular Chrome extension was pulled last year after it was found to be stealthily mining Monero in the background. And coin mining malware has been sneaking into Android apps for years.

Increasingly, platforms are having to deal with sketchy behaviors that are about much more than just mining. As increasing numbers of services dabble in cryptocurrency, some apps have turned to the kind of spammy tactics Apple has disapproved in the past.

The company addresses this kind of behavior elsewhere in its latest developer guidelines, with other new rules relating to cryptocurrencies, including one that prohibits apps from offering "currency for completing tasks, such as downloading other apps, encouraging other users to download, posting to social networks, etc."

3.1.5 (b) Cryptocurrencies:

(i) Wallets: Apps may facilitate virtual currency storage, provided they are offered by developers enrolled as an organization.

(ii) Mining: Apps may not mine for cryptocurrencies unless the processing is performed off device (e.g. cloud-based mining).

(iii) Exchanges: Apps may facilitate transactions or transmissions of cryptocurrency on an approved exchange, provided they are offered by the exchange itself.

(iv) Initial Coin Offerings: Apps facilitating Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”), cryptocurrency futures trading, and other crypto-securities or quasi-securities trading must come from established banks, securities firms, futures commission merchants (“FCM”), or other approved financial institutions and must comply with all applicable law.

(v) Cryptocurrency apps may not offer currency for completing tasks, such as downloading other apps, encouraging other users to download, posting to social networks, etc.

h/t: AppleInsider