Monday, October 28, 2013

Manage iCloud Download Settings for This App

In September, I noted how Apple now lets users download previous versions of iOS apps, since the current version may not be compatible with iOS 7. Unfortunately, this feature was not available for the Mac App Store.

On October 22, I received an e-mail from Apple indicating that this was now possible for Mac apps:

Users who have already purchased your Mac app are now able to download previous versions, allowing them to use your app with Macs that may no longer be supported by OS X Mavericks.

If you do not want previous versions of your app to be available for download as a previous purchase, for example due to a usability or legal issue, you can manage their availability in the Rights and Pricing section of the Manage Your Apps module on iTunes Connect. To exclude a specific version, click “Manage iCloud download settings for this app.” For more information on managing previous versions, see the iTunes Connect Developer Guide or contact us.

I was not able to find those settings in iTunes Connect (though I’ve seen screenshots of where they are for iOS), so I contacted Apple and received this reply:

Thanks for taking the time to write to me regarding the difficulties you are facing managing previous versions of your Mac OS App, [redacted].

I want to let you know that it is only possible to manage previous versions of an iOS App. This function is not currently featured within Mac OS Apps.

So apparently the first e-mail was a mistake.

Update (2013-10-28): John Brayton says the settings are available for him.

Update (2013-12-06): It’s worth emphasizing that downloading previous versions only works for users who had already purchased a previous version. If you make your app 10.9-only, it cannot be purchased at all by users running older versions of the OS.

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I managed this with a couple of apps on iTunes Connect. The link to manage iCloud settings is at the bottom left of the Rights and Pricing page for a particular app.

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