Several users have reported that they are having problems connecting to the Mac App Store. Further, users stated that this problem started after updating their Mac devices. The error message:
- In my case all MACs behind Squid Proxy server and no matter what exclusions I make on proxy, AppStore won't purchase apps. All works well until I click INSTALL. Looking at proxy log files I can see AppStore getting page components (ie. Jpg images) from non-Apple site(s), but it looks like AppStore's purchase process ignores proxy settings.
- We’ve got the how-to articles and tips you need — all in the App Store. Lists From the best apps for cooking healthier meals to action‑packed games for keeping the kids entertained, App Store editors have created themed lists of the most download‑worthy games and apps.
The proxy finally responds with a 200 Connection established; To me, this shows that in general the proxy authentication works fine, if the system can get the username and proxy from somewhere. The question remains how/where to store the username/password so that all system services can find it.
“Cannot Connect to the App Store”.
You may also see similar error messages:
- An unknown error has occurred.
- We could not complete your request.
Microsoft App Proxy
Please note that if you are having this issue on your iPhone or iPad, please see this article.
This article explains what you can do when your Mac can’t connect to the Apple App Store and won’t download, install, or update apps.
See also: Cannot Send or Receive Messages on Your Mac?
Why can’t my Mac connect to the App Store?
- First, let’s make sure that there are no network connectivity issues. Make sure that your Mac is connected to the Internet. Check to see if websites load in Safari or in other browsers. If not, you may try the following troubleshooting tips:
- Restart your Mac. (Apple menu > Restart).
- Restart your router/modem (Unplug the power supply, wait 30 seconds and then plug it back in).
- Turn off and on Wi-Fi. (Click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar).
- Contact your Internet service provider and confirm that there are no outages.
- Make sure that Apple Mac App Store servers are up and running. Go to Apple’s System Status website and check. It is possible that the App Store service is having issues with its servers or systems. For instance, currently, it is saying “Mac App Store – Completed Maintenance. 1.7% of users were affected. Customers may have been unable to make purchases from the App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store, or Mac App Store.” As you can see, the Mac App Store was down for some users, and but now it is fixed. If this the case, there is little you can do. Just wait. You’ll know when the service is working again.
- Launch iTunes. From the top menu bar, click Account and then Sign out. After signing out, sign back in.
- Open the App Store on your Mac and then click Store (top menu bar) and click Sing Out and then sing back in.
- If you are using a VPN or proxy to connect to the Internet, disable them to see if that fixes your problem.
- Update your Mac. Make sure that your operating system is up to date. If you are running macOS Mojave or later, go to System Preferences > Software Update and then click Check for Updates. If there is an update available, update the software on your Mac by following the on-screen instructions. If you are running an earlier version of the macOS software (e.g., macOS High Sierra, etc) then you will need to open the App Store and click Updates.
- On your Mac, make sure that the date and time settings are done correctly. Go to System Preferences > Date & Time to check this. You may also want to check the box for “Set date and time automatically”.
- Restart your Mac in Safe Mode. You can restart your Mac by pressing and holding the Shift key as your Mac starts up (turn off your Mac then turn on and immediately press and hold the Shift key). Try the App Store in Safe Mode and then restart your Mac normally (this time, do not press the Shift key).
- On your Mac, complete the following steps:
- open the Keychain Access app (Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access).
- Click “System Roots”.
- Double Click “DigiCert High Assurance EV root CA”.
- Click “Trust” to expand it.
- Change “When using this certificate” from “Use System Defaults” to “Never Trust”.
- Now restart your Mac.
- And, when your Mac is on, follow the same steps to change “When using this certificate” back to “Use System Defaults”.
- On your Mac, follow these steps:
- Open Finder.
- From the top menu, click Go > Go to Folder and enter the following:
- /var/db/crls/
- Click Go.
- Delete these files: “crlcache.db” and “ocspcache.db”. You may have to enter your admin password.
- And then restart your Mac.
![App App](/uploads/1/3/4/2/134294815/795462962.jpg)
If everything above fails and the issue persists, you could contact Apple.
See also: This Item Is Temporarily Unavailable. Please Try Again Later
Later this year, the App Store will help users understand an app’s privacy practices before they download the app on any Apple platform. On each app’s product page, users can learn about some of the data types the app may collect, and whether that data is linked to them or used to track them. You’ll need to provide information about your app’s privacy practices, including the practices of third-party partners whose code you integrate into your app, in App Store Connect. This information will be required to submit new apps and app updates to the App Store starting December 8, 2020.
Answering app privacy questions
As you get ready to select your answers from the options presented in App Store Connect, keep in mind:
- You need to identify all of the data you or your third-party partners collect, unless the data meets all of the criteria for optional disclosure listed below.
- Your app’s privacy practices should follow the App Store Review Guidelines and all applicable laws.
- You’re responsible for keeping your responses accurate and up to date. If your practices change, update your responses in App Store Connect. You may update your answers at any time, and you do not need to submit an app update in order to change your answers.
Account Holders and Admins can learn how to enter their responses in App Store Connect.
Data collection
You’ll need to know the types of data that you and/or your third-party partners collect from your app before answering the questions in App Store Connect.
“Collect” refers to transmitting data off the device in a way that allows you and/or your third-party partners to access it for a period longer than what is necessary to service the transmitted request in real time.
“Third-party partners” refers to analytics tools, advertising networks, third-party SDKs, or other external vendors whose code you’ve added to your app.
Optional disclosure
Data types that meet all of the following criteria are optional to disclose:
- The data is not used for tracking purposes, meaning the data is not linked with Third-Party Data for advertising or advertising measurement purposes, or shared with a data broker. For details, see the Tracking section.
- The data is not used for Third-Party Advertising, your Advertising or Marketing purposes, or for Other Purposes, as those terms are defined in the Tracking section.
- Collection of the data occurs only in infrequent cases that are not part of your app’s primary functionality, and which are optional for the user.
- The data is provided by the user in your app’s interface, it is clear to the user what data is collected, the user’s name or account name is prominently displayed in the submission form alongside the other data elements being submitted, and the user affirmatively chooses to provide the data for collection each time.
If a data type collected by your app meets some, but not all, of the above criteria, it must be disclosed in App Store Connect.
Examples of data that may not need to be disclosed include data collected in optional feedback forms or customer service requests that are unrelated to the primary purpose of the app and meet the other criteria above.
For the purpose of clarity, data collected on an ongoing basis after an initial request for permission must be disclosed.
Types of data
Refer to the list of data types below and compare them to the data collection practices in your app.
Contact Info | |
---|---|
Name | Such as first or last name |
Email Address | Including but not limited to a hashed email address |
Phone Number | Including but not limited to a hashed phone number |
Physical Address | Such as home address, physical address, or mailing address |
Other User Contact Info | Any other information that can be used to contact the user outside the app |
Health and Fitness | |
Health | Health and medical data, including but not limited to data from the Clinical Health Records API, HealthKit API, MovementDisorderAPIs, or health-related human subject research or any other user provided health or medical data |
Fitness | Fitness and exercise data, including but not limited to the Motion and Fitness API |
Financial Info | |
Payment Info | Such as form of payment, payment card number, or bank account number. If your app uses a payment service, the payment information is entered outside your app, and you as the developer never have access to the payment information, it is not collected and does not need to be disclosed. |
Credit Info | Such as credit score |
Other Financial Info | Such as salary, income, assets, debts, or any other financial information |
Location | |
Precise Location | Information that describes the location of a user or device with the same or greater resolution as a latitude and longitude with three or more decimal places |
Coarse Location | Information that describes the location of a user or device with lower resolution than a latitude and longitude with three or more decimal places, such as Approximate Location Services |
Sensitive Info | |
Sensitive Info | Such as racial or ethnic data, sexual orientation, pregnancy or childbirth information, disability, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, political opinion, genetic information, or biometric data |
Contacts | |
Contacts | Such as a list of contacts in the user’s phone, address book, or social graph |
User Content | |
Emails or Text Messages | Including subject line, sender, recipients, and contents of the email or message |
Photos or Videos | The user’s photos or videos |
Audio Data | The user’s voice or sound recordings |
Gameplay Content | Such as user-generated content in-game |
Customer Support | Data generated by the user during a customer support request |
Other User Content | Any other user-generated content |
Browsing History | |
Browsing History | Information about content the user has viewed that is not part of the app, such as websites |
Search History | |
Search History | Information about searches performed in the app |
Identifiers | |
User ID | Such as screen name, handle, account ID, assigned user ID, customer number, or other user- or account-level ID that can be used to identify a particular user or account |
Device ID | Such as the device’s advertising identifier, or other device-level ID |
Purchases | |
Purchase History | An account’s or individual’s purchases or purchase tendencies |
Usage Data | |
Product Interaction | Such as app launches, taps, clicks, scrolling information, music listening data, video views, saved place in a game, video, or song, or other information about how the user interacts with the app |
Advertising Data | Such as information about the advertisements the user has seen |
Other Usage Data | Any other data about user activity in the app |
Diagnostics | |
Crash Data | Such as crash logs |
Performance Data | Such as launch time, hang rate, or energy use |
Other Diagnostic Data | Any other data collected for the purposes of measuring technical diagnostics related to the app |
Other Data | |
Other Data Types | Any other data types not mentioned |
Data use
You should have a clear understanding of how each data type is used by you and your third-party partners.
For example, collecting an email address and using it to authenticate the user and personalize the user’s experience within your app would include App Functionality and Product Personalization.
Purpose | Definition |
---|---|
Third-Party Advertising | Such as displaying third-party ads in your app, or sharing data with entities who display third-party ads |
Developer’s Advertising or Marketing | Such as displaying first-party ads in your app, sending marketing communications directly to your users, or sharing data with entities who will display your ads |
Analytics | Using data to evaluate user behavior, including to understand the effectiveness of existing product features, plan new features, or measure audience size or characteristics |
Product Personalization | Customizing what the user sees, such as a list of recommended products, posts, or suggestions |
App Functionality | Such as to authenticate the user, enable features, prevent fraud, implement security measures, ensure server up-time, minimize app crashes, improve scalability and performance, or perform customer support |
Other Purposes | Any other purposes not listed |
Data linked to the user
You’ll need to identify whether each data type is linked to the user’s identity (via their account, device, or other details) by you and/or your third-party partners. Data collected from an app is often linked to the user’s identity, unless specific privacy protections are put in place before collection to de-identify or anonymize it, such as:
- Stripping data of any direct identifiers, such as user ID or name, before collection.
- Manipulating data to break the linkage and prevent re-linkage to real-world identities.
Additionally, in order for data not to be linked to a particular user’s identity, you must avoid certain activities after collection:
- You must not attempt to link the data back to the user’s identity.
- You must not tie the data to other datasets that enable it to be linked to a particular user’s identity.
Proxy App Windows
Note: “Personal Information” and “Personal Data”, as defined under relevant privacy laws, are considered linked to the user.
Tracking
You’ll need to understand whether you and/or your third-party partners use data from your app to track users and, if so, which data is used for this purpose.
“Tracking” refers to linking data collected from your app about a particular end-user or device, such as a user ID, device ID, or profile, with Third-Party Data for targeted advertising or advertising measurement purposes, or sharing data collected from your app about a particular end-user or device with a data broker.
“Third-Party Data” refers to any data about a particular end-user or device collected from apps, websites, or offline properties not owned by you.
![Proxy app windows Proxy app windows](/uploads/1/3/4/2/134294815/132210585.jpg)
Examples of tracking include:
- Displaying targeted advertisements in your app based on user data collected from apps and websites owned by other companies.
- Sharing device location data or email lists with a data broker.
- Sharing a list of emails, advertising IDs, or other IDs with a third-party advertising network that uses that information to retarget those users in other developers’ apps or to find similar users.
- Placing a third-party SDK in your app that combines user data from your app with user data from other developers’ apps to target advertising or measure advertising efficiency, even if you don’t use the SDK for these purposes. For example, using a login SDK that repurposes the data it collects from your app to enable targeted advertising in other developers’ apps.
The following situations are not considered tracking:
- When the data is linked solely on the end-user’s device and is not sent off the device in a way that can identify the end-user or device.
- When the data broker uses the data shared with them solely for fraud detection or prevention or security purposes, and solely on your behalf.
Learn more about tracking.
Privacy links
By adding the following links on your product page, you can help users easily access your app’s privacy policy and manage their data in your app.
Privacy Policy (Required): The URL to your publicly accessible privacy policy.
Privacy Choices (Optional): A publicly accessible URL where users can learn more about their privacy choices for your app and how to manage them. For example, a webpage where users can access their data, request deletion, or make changes.
Additional guidance
You collect different types of data from users depending on whether the user is a child, whether they are a free or paid user, whether they opt in, where they live, or for some other reason.
Please disclose all data collected from your app, unless it meets all of the criteria outlined in the Optional Disclosure section. You may use the Privacy Choices or Privacy Policy links to provide additional detail about how your data collection practices may vary.
You use Apple frameworks or services, such as MapKit, CloudKit, or App Analytics.
If you collect data about your app from Apple frameworks or services, you should indicate what data you collect and how you use it. You are not responsible for disclosing data collected by Apple.
You use location, device identifiers, and other sensitive data, but only on device, and the data is never sent to a server.
Data that is processed only on device is not “collected” and does not need to be disclosed in your answers. If you derive anything from that data and send it off device, the resulting data should be considered separately.
You collect precise location, but immediately de-identify and coarsen it before storing.
Disclose that you collect Coarse Location, since the precise location data is immediately coarsened and precise location is not stored.
Mac Proxy App
Your app includes free-form text fields or voice recordings, and users can save any type of information they want through those mediums, including names and health data.
Mac Proxy Software
Mark 'Other User Content' to represent generic free form text fields and 'Audio Data' for voice recordings. You’re not responsible for disclosing all possible data that users may manually enter in the app through free-form fields or voice recordings. However, if you ask a user to input a specific data type into a text field, such as their name or email, then you’ll need to disclose the specific type of data that you request.
You collect data to service a request but do not retain it after servicing the request.
'Collect' refers to transmitting data off the device and storing it in a readable form for longer than the time it takes you and/or your third-party partners to service the request. For example, if an authentication token or IP address is sent on a server call and not retained, or if data is sent to your servers then immediately discarded after servicing the request, you do not need to disclose this in your answers in App Store Connect.