Apple pauses U.S. student purchase verifications

Just three days after adding a UNiDAYS verification requirement for education discount purchases in the U.S., Apple appears to have removed the requirement from its website.

Earlier this week Apple introduced a new verification process. From Wednesday:

The crackdown was first noticed by people on Reddit with verification now required via UNiDAYS. Interestingly, this only appears to apply to the United States education discount at the time of writing with the Canadian one remaining wide open.

To verify your student or staff status, you will be redirected to the third-party website UNiDAYS and will be subject to their privacy policy(Opens in a new window). By registering and using their website, the data you provide will be owned, controlled and processed solely by UNiDAYS and not by Apple.

Now, Reddit users have reported the UNiDAYS verification has disappeared, and you can now once again buy Apple's best MacBooks and best iPads at education discount prices without any verification.

Some commenters speculated that there may have been issues for K-12 teachers trying to get verified. It is not clear whether Apple has merely paused the verification process or plans to scrap it altogether. The company has long-required verification in other countries, such as the UK where UNiDAYS operates without any hiccups.

Apple's educational discount lets students purchase devices such as the MacBook Air with M1 for just $899 and extends across its entire Mac and iPad range. The company also operates its famed 'Back to School' promotion at the end of summer, where students can usually grab a free pair of Beats headphones or even AirPods with their purchase.