Microsoft on Thursday published a set of 10 ‘principles’ that it will adopt for its Microsoft Store on Windows 10.

The tech giant has published these principles “to promote choice, ensure fairness and promote innovation,” building upon the work of the non-profit organisation, Coalition for App Fairness (CAF).

CAF was launched last month by a group of leading developers including Spotify, Epic Games and Match Group to urge Apple and other app store owners to make changes to their business practices.

“Our App Store principles will ensure a level playing field for platforms like Apple and a consistent standard of conduct across the app ecosystem,” reads CAF’s vision.

Microsoft’s 10 principle

Microsoft outlined the 10 principles in a new blog post. The principles are meant to provide freedom to developers to choose if they would like to distribute their apps for Windows through Microsoft’s own store.

“We will not block competing app stores on Windows,” Microsoft said.

“We will not block an app from Windows based on a developer’s business model or how it delivers content and services, including whether content is installed on a device or streamed from the cloud,” reads another principle.

Microsoft will not block an app based on the payment system that a developer uses to process payments on their app. It has also updated its interoperability principles and will provide timely access to developers to information about the interoperability interfaces that it uses on Windows.

“Every developer will have access to our app store as long as it meets objective standards and requirements, including those for security, privacy, quality, content and digital safety,” Microsoft said.

The company further added that it will charge “reasonable fees” but “will not force a developer to sell within its app anything it doesn’t want to sell.”

Communicate with users

Developers will be able to communicate directly with their users through their apps for “legitimate business purposes.”

“Our app store will hold our own apps to the same standards to which it holds competing apps,” Microsoft said as part of its principles.

“Microsoft will not use any non-public information or data from its app store about a developer’s app to compete with it,” it said.

“Our app store will be transparent about its rules and policies and opportunities for promotion and marketing, apply these consistently and objectively, provide notice of changes and make available a fair process to resolve disputes,” it added.

Criticism for Apple, Google

Apple is facing global criticism over its app store policies, especially the 30 per cent ‘Apple Tax.’ Concerns have been raised about app stores’ “monopolistic” practices with many developers calling out these app stores’ policies as ‘anti-competitive.’

The CAF had highlighted various issues with the “gatekeepers” of the app stores, Apple in particular. It detailed three main issues with the Apple App Store, its ‘anti-competitive’ policies, the 30 per cent ‘Apple Tax’ levied on developers for in-app payments and the lack of consumers freedom with the iPhone apps being only available via the Apple App Store.

In India, Google has drawn flak for its updated payments policy which includes a 30 per cent transaction fees from apps for in-app payments.

“Windows 10 is an open platform. Unlike some other popular digital platforms, developers are free to choose how they distribute their apps,” Microsoft said.