Apple App Store: Difference between revisions

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[[wikipedia:Stripe, Inc.|Stripe]], a popular platform used for payments on the web, uses a base fee of 2.9% plus a fixed $0.30 in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pricing |url=https://stripe.com/it/pricing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/FoCG4 |archive-date=7 Jan 2026 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Stripe]]}}</ref> With add-on services, before considering volume discounts, a Stripe transaction may have a cost of 6.4% + $1.10.<ref>Calculated from base fee (2.9% + $0.30) + international card (1.5%) + adaptive pricing (2%) + international payment methods ($0.80), as of January 2025</ref> Stripe has been used by businesses ranging from small online stores to [[OpenAI]] for ChatGPT Plus. Competing payment services have similar or identical fees to Stripe. '''The in-app purchase system does not provide sufficient value to justify the considerably higher costs compared to alternative payment platforms.'''

The App Store system poorly handles secondary marketplaces of digital services that exist within the primary App Store marketplace, such as Patreon. Apple~~, however, still~~ requires companies ~~in the business of~~ selling digital services to use this inadequate system~~. This requires the~~ app to account for Apple's fee, which is significant enough to warrant price increases ~~frequently~~, and to follow rules even if they do not align with the nature of the service being provided. ~~Apple~~ has ~~often been found in~~ disputes ~~with such apps. This~~ injects ~~extra complication~~ at no benefit to the marketplace, the ~~creator~~, or the ~~customer - only to~~ Apple, which has little to no involvement after delivering the initial app download to the user's phone. The significant fee also often drives app developers to consider building their app around an advertising model instead, creating privacy concerns.

The App Store system poorly handles secondary marketplaces of digital services that exist within the primary App Store marketplace, such as Patreon. Apple requires companies selling digital services to use this inadequate system, in which app developers must account for Apple's fee, which is significant enough to warrant price increases, and to follow rules even if they do not align with the nature of the service being provided. This has led to disputes between Apple and app developers and injects complications at no benefit to the marketplace, the developers, or the end users. The main beneficiary of this system is Apple, which has little to no involvement after delivering the initial app download to the user's phone. The significant fee also often drives app developers to consider building their app around an advertising model instead, creating privacy concerns.

Additionally, the 15% small business fee discount is determined based on the app's overall turnover and is not applied to individual creators within the app's marketplace. An app that generates over $1 million per year by providing services to creators who individually earn less than $1 million per year does not qualify for the discount.

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Apple, often in conjunction with Google, engages in lobbying efforts in the United States and other countries to address these issues. "ACT | The App Association", pitched as an association of independent small business app developers, is at least 50% funded by Apple, and does not list its claimed 2,000 members.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 Oct 2021 |title=Not a class ACT: the so-called App Association is simply an Apple Association and does NOT represent app developers' interests in fair distribution terms |url=https://www.fosspatents.com/2021/10/not-class-act-so-called-app-association.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/eyn0i |archive-date=7 Jan 2026 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[FOSS Patents]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Sep 2022 |title=Vast majority of ACT {{!}} The App Association's funding comes from Apple, former employees tell Bloomberg: astroturfing against app developers' interests |url=https://www.fosspatents.com/2022/09/vast-majority-of-act-app-associations.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/eGRNV |archive-date=7 Jan 2026 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[FOSS Patents]]}}</ref> In March 2024, the United States Department of Justice, along with 16 state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company "extracts more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others."<ref name="doj" /> The future of this lawsuit is unclear as of April 2025.

Despite criticism of Apple ~~forcing~~ its fee ~~into~~ transactions with small businesses and creators on platforms such as [[#Patreon|Patreon]] and [[#Facebook online events|Facebook]], on January 23, 2025, Apple announced the Advanced Commerce API. It "support[s] developers' evolving business models - such as extensive content catalogs, creator experiences, and subscriptions with optional add-ons".<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 Jan 2025 |title=Introducing the Advanced Commerce API |url=https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=yxy958ya |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/KEH8h |archive-date=23 Jan 2025 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Apple Developer]]}}</ref> While positioned as a way for such businesses to save development time and avoid ongoing costs by building on top of Apple's ~~mature~~ payments platform, its use is~~, in fact,~~ necessary for these businesses to comply with the App Store guidelines, as seen in the cases outlined below. The feature requires submitting a description of the app's business model to Apple for approval. ~~This continues~~ a ~~trend~~ of ~~requiring Apple's consent~~ to conduct business in ~~a place where users have been trained to expect it~~.

Despite criticism of Apple imposing its fee on transactions with small businesses and creators on platforms such as [[#Patreon|Patreon]] and [[#Facebook online events|Facebook]], on January 23, 2025, Apple announced the Advanced Commerce API. It "support[s] developers' evolving business models - such as extensive content catalogs, creator experiences, and subscriptions with optional add-ons."<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 Jan 2025 |title=Introducing the Advanced Commerce API |url=https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=yxy958ya |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/KEH8h |archive-date=23 Jan 2025 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Apple Developer]]}}</ref> While positioned as a way for such businesses to save development time and avoid ongoing costs by building on top of Apple's established payments platform, its use is necessary for these businesses to comply with the App Store guidelines, as seen in the cases outlined below. The feature requires submitting a description of the app's business model to Apple for approval. In this case, Apple is not acting as a platform for digital services but a gatekeeper of who is and is not allowed to conduct business in the digital market.

===Epic Games===

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 [[wikipedia:Stripe, Inc.|Stripe]], a popular platform used for payments on the web, uses a base fee of 2.9% plus a fixed $0.30 in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pricing |url=https://stripe.com/it/pricing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/FoCG4 |archive-date=7 Jan 2026 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Stripe]]}}</ref> With add-on services, before considering volume discounts, a Stripe transaction may have a cost of 6.4% + $1.10.<ref>Calculated from base fee (2.9% + $0.30) + international card (1.5%) + adaptive pricing (2%) + international payment methods ($0.80), as of January 2025</ref> Stripe has been used by businesses ranging from small online stores to [[OpenAI]] for ChatGPT Plus. Competing payment services have similar or identical fees to Stripe. '''The in-app purchase system does not provide sufficient value to justify the considerably higher costs compared to alternative payment platforms.'''
-The App Store system poorly handles secondary marketplaces of digital services that exist within the primary App Store marketplace, such as Patreon. Apple, however, still requires companies in the business of selling digital services to use this inadequate system. This requires the app to account for Apple's fee, which is significant enough to warrant price increases frequently, and to follow rules even if they do not align with the nature of the service being provided. Apple has often been found in disputes with such apps. This injects extra complication at no benefit to the marketplace, the creator, or the customer - only to Apple, which has little to no involvement after delivering the initial app download to the user's phone. The significant fee also often drives app developers to consider building their app around an advertising model instead, creating privacy concerns.
+The App Store system poorly handles secondary marketplaces of digital services that exist within the primary App Store marketplace, such as Patreon. Apple requires companies selling digital services to use this inadequate system, in which app developers must account for Apple's fee, which is significant enough to warrant price increases, and to follow rules even if they do not align with the nature of the service being provided. This has led to disputes between Apple and app developers and injects complications at no benefit to the marketplace, the developers, or the end users. The main beneficiary of this system is Apple, which has little to no involvement after delivering the initial app download to the user's phone. The significant fee also often drives app developers to consider building their app around an advertising model instead, creating privacy concerns.
 Additionally, the 15% small business fee discount is determined based on the app's overall turnover and is not applied to individual creators within the app's marketplace. An app that generates over $1 million per year by providing services to creators who individually earn less than $1 million per year does not qualify for the discount.
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 Apple, often in conjunction with Google, engages in lobbying efforts in the United States and other countries to address these issues. "ACT | The App Association", pitched as an association of independent small business app developers, is at least 50% funded by Apple, and does not list its claimed 2,000 members.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 Oct 2021 |title=Not a class ACT: the so-called App Association is simply an Apple Association and does NOT represent app developers' interests in fair distribution terms |url=https://www.fosspatents.com/2021/10/not-class-act-so-called-app-association.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/eyn0i |archive-date=7 Jan 2026 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[FOSS Patents]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Sep 2022 |title=Vast majority of ACT {{!}} The App Association's funding comes from Apple, former employees tell Bloomberg: astroturfing against app developers' interests |url=https://www.fosspatents.com/2022/09/vast-majority-of-act-app-associations.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/eGRNV |archive-date=7 Jan 2026 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[FOSS Patents]]}}</ref> In March 2024, the United States Department of Justice, along with 16 state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company "extracts more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others."<ref name="doj" /> The future of this lawsuit is unclear as of April 2025.
-Despite criticism of Apple forcing its fee into transactions with small businesses and creators on platforms such as [[#Patreon|Patreon]] and [[#Facebook online events|Facebook]], on January 23, 2025, Apple announced the Advanced Commerce API. It "support[s] developers' evolving business models - such as extensive content catalogs, creator experiences, and subscriptions with optional add-ons".<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 Jan 2025 |title=Introducing the Advanced Commerce API |url=https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=yxy958ya |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/KEH8h |archive-date=23 Jan 2025 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Apple Developer]]}}</ref> While positioned as a way for such businesses to save development time and avoid ongoing costs by building on top of Apple's mature payments platform, its use is, in fact, necessary for these businesses to comply with the App Store guidelines, as seen in the cases outlined below. The feature requires submitting a description of the app's business model to Apple for approval. This continues a trend of requiring Apple's consent to conduct business in a place where users have been trained to expect it.
+Despite criticism of Apple imposing its fee on transactions with small businesses and creators on platforms such as [[#Patreon|Patreon]] and [[#Facebook online events|Facebook]], on January 23, 2025, Apple announced the Advanced Commerce API. It "support[s] developers' evolving business models - such as extensive content catalogs, creator experiences, and subscriptions with optional add-ons."<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 Jan 2025 |title=Introducing the Advanced Commerce API |url=https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=yxy958ya |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/KEH8h |archive-date=23 Jan 2025 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Apple Developer]]}}</ref> While positioned as a way for such businesses to save development time and avoid ongoing costs by building on top of Apple's established payments platform, its use is necessary for these businesses to comply with the App Store guidelines, as seen in the cases outlined below. The feature requires submitting a description of the app's business model to Apple for approval. In this case, Apple is not acting as a platform for digital services but a gatekeeper of who is and is not allowed to conduct business in the digital market.
 ===Epic Games===