The Financial Times (FT) has become the first major news publisher to provide an HTML5 version of its mobile app, allowing users to access the service without going via a third-party app store. The move comes amid reports of heightened tensions between Apple and publishers over the sharing of subscriber data on newspaper and magazine services offered via Apple’s App Store, the FT reported. John Ridding, the FT’s chief executive, said the newspaper (which is owned by Pearson) was still talking to Apple about data-sharing concerns, but added: “This is not about Apple. It’s about our readers and making sure they have a consistent experience.” Rob Grimshaw, managing director of FT.com, said the FT had no plans to pull out of any apps store, but that it would encourage users to adopt the web app with a marketing campaign, including a week’s free access.

The FT ‘Web App’ can be accessed directly at app.ft.com and claims to be able to replicate the features of its mobile apps within a standard smartphone browser. The newspaper, which was one of the first to charge for digital access, claims to have 224,000 digital subscribers to date. According to Grimshaw, about 15 percent of its new digital subscribers now access the service via mobile devices, with about half of the FT’s mobile traffic already coming via a browser rather than an app.

Analysts believe that the FT’s move could encourage other publishers to follow suit but note that some are better suited to selling their digital services via a third-party app store due to the relatively straightforward payment process. “The FT always remains a special case because there’s a willingness to pay for FT content that’s not there with every publication,” Benedict Evans at Enders Analysis told the newspaper. “This is not something that’s going to work for a second-tier US newspaper struggling with the idea of a paywall.”