Apple is adjusting its App Store rules in the European Union after regulators accused the company in June of violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). At first glance, the updated rules appear to give developers more freedom when linking to external purchases, but the restrictive new fee structure will force developers to pay Apple a commission on cross-platform sales. any platforms, not just iOS, as long as they include external links.
Starting this fall, all developers in the EU will be able to add links for purchases outside of their apps. The updated rules will allow developers to tell users about offers on the web, other app stores, or “a destination of their choice.” It allows developers to add any number of links and gives users the option to disable the in-app panic screen.
But the cost of using this feature is so high that it’s hard to imagine any developer using it. Once developers add external links, Apple will charge a new “Store Service Fee” on sales of digital goods and services that occur within one year of the date a user installs the app on any platform, even if the user never actually clicks on the app Program external links. This may include purchases from any type of device (such as a Windows computer) on alternative app stores or developer websites. If the user reinstalls or updates the application, the clock will restart. For apps available only through the App Store, the fee is 20%; apps that add support for third-party app stores will pay a 10% fee, but they will face other related fees.
In addition, Apple also imposes a 5% “initial purchase fee” on digital goods and services purchased “on any platform” within one year after users first install the app. All told, this means Apple can charge up to 25% commission on purchases made within a year of installation, including off-platform subscriptions and auto-renewals. Developers in Apple’s Small Business program and those charging for “qualifying” auto-renewing subscriptions of more than one year will face lower fees. These fees also do not apply to subscriptions purchased before downloading the app or to automatic renewals.
“Apple’s terms make it completely uneconomical for developers to distribute their apps through the Apple App Store and competing iOS app stores,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said in a post on X discussing the new rules.
Apple says the fees reflect the tremendous value its App Store provides. The initial acquisition fee “reflects the value the App Store provides in connecting developers with EU customers,” while the store service fee “reflects the ongoing services and functionality Apple provides to developers.”
Outside the EU, Apple charges a commission of up to 30% on in-app purchases. Apple also has strict rules about links to external purchase options, such as requiring developers to follow specific formatting guidelines, only display external links once, and display a notification (or “scare screen”) to warn users that they are about to leave the app. All of this is part of the reason why Spotify doesn’t sell audiobooks in its iOS app.
The new fee structure comes as Apple seeks to avoid further action from the European Union. In June, regulators accused the company of violating the DMA’s anti-diversion rules, or preventing developers from directing users to cheaper purchase options outside the App Store. The European Union also fined Apple 1.84 billion euros (about $2 billion) for blocking music streaming apps like Spotify from showing cheaper subscription offers outside of the App Store.
The EU is currently investigating Apple’s restrictive policies on alternative app stores and a new core technology fee that requires developers of third-party stores to pay 50 euro cents per install for apps downloaded more than 1 million times. The DMA, which came into effect in March, aims to regulate large technology companies to promote competition in the digital market.
“We are currently evaluating Apple’s proposal to intentionally create confusion,” Spotify spokesperson Jeanne Moran said in an emailed statement. edge. “Apple has once again blatantly ignored basic requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission has made it clear that imposing recurring charges on basic elements such as pricing and connectivity is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to speed up its investigation, impose daily fines and Perform DMA.
Apple has made some minor changes to its DMA compliance program after facing criticism from developers and EU regulators earlier this year. It announced that developers of free apps will be able to access external app stores without paying core technology fees, and it also gave developers a one-time option to opt out of the company’s new business terms, but only if they don’t already launch an alternative app store Or use a third-party payment method.
Apple’s latest changes offer some improvements, but they come with the same caveats, making it harder for developers to do business.
