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Apple Launches Web Version of App Store, Blocks Text Copying

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

Apple launched a new App Store on the web today, allowing users to browse through and search for apps across all of its platforms.

The web version solves one glaring limitation of the native App Store: it shows the current prices of apps you’ve already purchased.

Finally.

Via MJ Tsai, who notes:

But sadly, just like in the App Store app, Apple prevents you from selecting any of the text. I don’t understand why Apple insists on making its stores user-hostile in this way. However, unlike in the App Store app, you can find within the page using the browser’s built-in search feature. You can also fix text selection using StopTheMadness Pro’s “Protect text selection” feature.

“User-hostile” is exactly the right phrase—the same I used to describe this scourge in 2024 after I was prevented from copying text from the USPS Postal Store. I shared then a method for restoring the ability to copy text for Safari users, which I’ll share again: a custom style sheet to override the user-select CSS property many sites use to prevent content selection:

* {
    user-select: auto !important;
    -webkit-user-select: auto !important;
}

To use this override, save the above text to a file (I named mine nof—you.css—uncensored, of course), go to Safari > Settings, select the Advanced tab, click the Style Sheet popup menu, select Other…, and choose the file you saved. Safari will now use this css on any website you load, re-enabling content selection on any sites using user-select. Et voilà, you can copy again.

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