App Store Connect Trader Status is required if you distribute apps commercially in the EU, which under the Digital Services Act means paid apps, apps with in-app purchases, or apps that are otherwise a commercial activity. If you are a trader, you must provide your trader contact details, including a phone number, and Apple displays them on your EU App Store product page. Apps whose developers do not provide required trader information are removed from EU storefronts. Purely non-commercial individuals distributing free apps can usually declare that they are not a trader.
Short answer
Yes, if you are a trader distributing to the EU. The EU Digital Services Act requires online marketplaces to collect and show trader contact information, so Apple asks you to declare Trader Status in App Store Connect and, if you are a trader, to provide a legal name, address, phone number, and email. Per Apple's trader status guidance, those details are displayed on your product page in EU storefronts, and the phone number is part of the required, publicly shown contact information. Developers who are traders but do not provide the information have had their apps removed from the EU App Store. If you distribute only free, non-commercial apps as an individual, you can generally declare that you are not a trader.
What is the DSA?
The Digital Services Act is an EU regulation that governs online platforms and marketplaces, aiming for a safer and more transparent digital space. One of its requirements is traceability of traders: a marketplace that lets traders reach EU consumers must collect certain information about those traders and make key contact details visible to users. The App Store falls under this as a marketplace for apps.
For app developers, the practical effect is narrow but firm. If you act as a trader, meaning you offer apps as a commercial activity, the DSA requires that your contact information be on file and shown to EU users. It is a transparency and accountability measure, not a tax or a review step, and it applies regardless of how your app is built. The idea is that a consumer who has a problem with a paid app should be able to find out who is behind it and how to reach them, the same principle the DSA applies to sellers on any online marketplace.
What is App Store Connect Trader Status?
Trader Status is the setting in App Store Connect where you declare whether you are a trader under the DSA and, if so, provide the contact details the regulation requires. Apple collects this so it can meet its obligations as a marketplace and display your details on EU product pages. You find it in the account's business or compliance section.
Declaring trader status is a one-time setup that you keep current, not a per-app or per-submission task. Once you provide and verify the details, Apple shows them on your EU App Store listings. If your details change, you update them in the same place, because the displayed information must stay accurate. Treat it like your legal business contact details rather than a marketing field, since it carries the same obligation to be correct and current.
Is trader status required for you?
It depends on whether you are a trader, which turns on whether you distribute apps as a commercial activity rather than the app simply being free of charge. The table below maps common situations to whether trader status applies.
| Your situation | Are you a trader? | Trader status required? |
|---|---|---|
| Paid apps or in-app purchases | Yes | Yes, provide and display details |
| Free app tied to a business or ads | Usually yes | Yes |
| Free app, purely non-commercial individual | Often no | Declare non-trader |
| Company or organization distributing apps | Yes | Yes |
The simplest test is commercial intent. If you charge for the app, sell anything through in-app purchase, or otherwise distribute as a business, you are a trader and the requirement applies. If you are an individual sharing a free app with no commercial angle, you can usually declare non-trader, though you should choose honestly, since an inconsistent declaration can hold up distribution.
Do I need to show my phone number?
Yes, if you are a trader. The DSA requires that trader contact information be available to consumers, and Apple's implementation displays your address, phone number, and email on your EU App Store product page. There is no option to be a trader and hide the phone number, because publishing that contact detail is the point of the requirement.
If displaying a personal number is a concern, the practical answer is to use a business phone number and address rather than a personal one. Many small developers set up a dedicated business contact for exactly this reason. What you cannot do is keep the information private while distributing commercially in the EU, since the visibility is a legal requirement, not an Apple preference you can toggle off.
What happens if you do not provide it
If you are a trader and do not provide the required information, your apps are removed from EU storefronts. Apple set deadlines for existing apps and removed the apps of traders who had not completed the declaration from EU App Store countries, and new submissions cannot go live in the EU without it. The apps can remain available outside the EU, but the EU audience is cut off until you comply.
Restoring availability is straightforward once you act: provide and verify the trader details, and the app can return to EU storefronts. The cost of ignoring it is lost EU distribution in the meantime, which for most paid apps is significant, so it is worth completing before any deadline rather than after a removal. Because the EU is a large market for most developers, the safe approach is to complete the declaration early rather than risk even a short removal from those storefronts.
How to set trader status in App Store Connect
Setting it is a short, guided process. The checklist below walks through the steps from opening the setting to confirming the display on your product page.
| Step | Action | Done? |
|---|---|---|
| Open Trader Status | Go to the Business or compliance section in App Store Connect | [ ] |
| Declare status | Select trader if you distribute commercially | [ ] |
| Provide details | Enter legal name, address, phone number, and email | [ ] |
| Verify | Complete Apple's verification of the details | [ ] |
| Confirm display | Check an EU product page shows the contact info | [ ] |
Complete every step, including the verification, since an unverified or incomplete declaration does not satisfy the requirement. After it is live, check an EU product page to confirm your contact information appears as expected, and update the details if your business contact ever changes.
What trader status does not cover
Trader status is a legal and transparency requirement, and completing it does not affect whether your app passes App Review or how secure it is. Those are separate gates. An app can have perfect trader details and still be rejected for a technical or security issue, and the two have nothing to do with each other.
On that separate security side, a scanner like PTKD.com analyzes your app build and reports findings ordered by severity and mapped to OWASP MASVS, so you catch issues like unjustified permissions, cleartext traffic, or embedded secrets before submission. To be clear about the boundary: PTKD has nothing to do with DSA trader status or any legal declaration. It only helps with the security and privacy findings that are a common, separate reason apps get rejected or pulled.
What to take away
- Trader status is required if you distribute apps commercially in the EU, which the DSA defines broadly to include paid apps and in-app purchases.
- The DSA is an EU regulation requiring marketplaces to collect and display trader contact information for transparency.
- If you are a trader, you must show your address, phone number, and email on your EU product page; use a business contact if privacy is a concern.
- Traders who do not provide the information have their apps removed from EU storefronts until they comply.
- Trader status is separate from security and review; scan your build with PTKD.com for the technical issues it does not cover.
