App is in danger of being removed as it doesn't implement in-app purchases in the App Store



Apple smartphones and tablets can only use apps downloaded through the App Store. Paid apps registered in the App Store will be removed from Apple as a violation of the guidelines based on the rule that 'pay 15 to 30% of in- app purchase sales to Apple' Has been warned.

A new email startup says Apple's shaking it down for a cut of its subscriptions-Protocol
https://www.protocol.com/hey-email-app-store-rejection

' HEY ', which started service on June 16, 2020 (Monday), is a paid mail service that specializes in selecting and sorting mail. Shortly after the release of HEY, Zack War, iOS developer at Basecamp , the developer of HEY, received one email from Apple. The content of the email is that 'HEY version 1.0.1 for iOS was rejected by the App Store examination.' The reason for the rejection was because HEY was against the in-app purchase section of App Store Review Guideline 3.1.1. The contents of App Store Review Guideline 3.1.1 at the time of article creation are as follows.

App content or features (eg subscriptions, in-game currency, game levels, access to premium content, access to the full version) must be released using in-app purchases. In order to release the contents and functions, it is not possible to use the unique method of App such as license key, augmented reality marker, QR code, etc. You can't include buttons, external links, or other features in your app or metadata that direct users to any purchases other than in-app purchases.



iOS version HEY is an application for using existing external services, and at the time of article creation, HEY's annual usage fee of $ 99 (about 10,600 yen) is paid by credit card without passing through the in-app billing system. Was being done. Mr. War and others, who had heard that 'inspection of app varies depending on the judge', judged that there is no big problem with in-app purchase, and other in-app purchase system was not added. I submitted version 1.0.2 of iOS version HEY with a bug fixed to Apple.

After that, Mr. War receives a call from an Apple app judge. The judges said they were calling on the matter that 'the new version did not solve the in-app billing problem.' It has been escalated internally by Apple that HEY has not implemented in-app purchases, and it was determined that the rejection of apps that cannot be purchased in-app is legitimate. The road left for HEY for iOS is to implement in-app purchase, and Apple requested Mr. War to present a schedule for implementing in-app purchase. If you don't comply, Apple auditors said they might remove HEY from the App Store.

War's development team pointed out that there are paid applications such as Spark and Edison that do not use in-app purchase , and the Apple judge dismissed, 'Do not talk about other applications.' Apple also said that it was a real mistake to first approve apps that didn't follow the guidelines.

While Apple has taken a strong stance on the app billing system, the App Store and the payment system Apple Pay were investigated by the European Commission (EC) due to suspicion of antitrust violation as of June 17, 2020 Has started.

European Commission starts investigation into Apple as ``App Store and Apple Pay violate antitrust law''-GIGAZINE



In addition, not only forcing the introduction of in-app purchases, but too high a fee of 'paying 15-30% from the sales of in-app purchases to Apple' is an unjust rule that may destroy competitors. Spotify pointed out. In addition, Rakuten's Kobo also pointed out that all books purchased with in-app purchase will be charged a 30% fee, similar to Spotify. In addition, Apple has been sued by Spotify in 2019 for overly expensive fees that violate antitrust laws.

Spotify appeals to the European Commission for antitrust violations that ``Apple's too high fee will prevent fair competition''-GIGAZINE



Spotify said, 'Apple's anti-competitive behavior is deliberately penalizing its competitors. By creating an unequal playing field, it deprives consumers of meaningful choices for too long. and we have 'and comments have been.

``iOS is the biggest platform, and Apple knows it,'' said Basecamp CTO David Heinemeyer Hanson , blaming Apple for erasing apps from the App Store. Point out that it is a threat to developers. Hansson defended Apple from a developer when he tweeted on Twitter, 'I'm stunned. Apple says we'll remove HEY if we don't pay 15-30% of our revenue.' I heard that I got many reactions to do so.



'When I heard some voices of app developers for Apple, it seemed as if they were taken hostage by Apple. The developers who defend Apple wrote pre-made lines. It would appear that otherwise Apple would remove the app from the App Store, which could hurt developers' work,' Hanson said.

Hanson speculates that someone at Apple could change their minds and approve HEY, which does not implement in-app purchases. But that doesn't solve the problem, Hanson said. 'Even if an exception is granted for us, the disadvantages that Apple inflicts on other companies will remain. We will not pay Apple one-third of the revenue. Apple's conduct is close to a crime 'There is a need for institutional reform. We can try to change the situation by striking all our assets,' said Hanson.

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Paid apps that need to be purchased without Apple's payment system may be excluded from the App Store-GIGAZINE

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in Mobile,   Software, Posted by darkhorse_log