Apple just decided to waive off the annual $99 developer fee for registered nonprofits and government organizations. Here’s how this decision will impact jailbreakers and average users.
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Free app publishing for NPOs and government
Apps by nonprofits and government will no longer require a paid developer certificate.
All applications that they have in the App Store or are planning to upload in the future will be free of cost.
There’s no real reason for doing this because not-for-profit organizations are stacked with cash. As far as government agencies go, I am sure $99 is lunch money for them.
Moreover, $99 is not such a high amount even for average users and developers.
Many iPhone users, especially sideloaders, are increasingly purchasing a developer certificate to prevent app revokes.
These changes in Apple’s App Store policy are limited only to the regular developer program. The structure of Enterprise Developer program, which costs $300 annually, still remains the same.
How can I benefit from this concession?
As you know, you can sign sideloaded apps without revokes for an entire year with a developer certificate. This means no re-jailbreaking or sideloading third-party applications after every 7 days.
It’s not easy to get access to this certificate without furnishing proper registration documents.
However, if you do manage to get your hands on a certificate, you jailbreak will last for a whopping 365 days!
That’s unlikely to happen but I am sure package installers like Tutuapp and PandaHelper will find a much-needed workaround.
If you want to go this route, I recommend making a fake NPO along with proper documentation.
If you have no idea how to go about it, there are plenty of online services that will handle the paperwork for you.
What do you think about this change – is it good or is it completely unnecessary? Leave your replies in the comments section below.
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