Apple, which has long been accused of bending its own rules, has apparently relented and is changing its iOS policies in a way that brings the iPhone more in line with Android phones.

In a March 4 update to the App Store Review Guidelines, the company adjusted the language regarding push notifications to allow apps to use push notifications for "promotional or direct marketing purposes," which had been prohibited in iOS.Apple push notifications to promote Carpool Karaoke, unless.

Our staff has noted that such push notification advertising for apps has been going on for years on Android; on the official Android developer site, the article is titled "Drive user engagement and extend your app's visibility with notifications" under "Engage," "Design," and "Marketing."

The only caveat is that customers must "explicitly opt-in" to these notifications, and that the app must provide a "user opt-out of receiving such messages... . method."

Apple's existing rules have been bent by developers for some time. As I was writing this article, I noticed that my lock screen was displaying yet another coupon code from the Postmates food delivery app. This change only suggests that lock screen advertising will increase in the coming months.

And yes, Apple has language about opting in to push notifications. People tend to just keep tapping OK when installing new apps. By doing so, they disable existing notifications they don't like and other features that invade their privacy.