I hope they will complain about this with the EU. Maybe the EU can stop this nonsense.
Ha, the same group that is responsible for accept cookie popups?
Yeah, who needs warning labels on products?! People ignore them anyway.
ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
71–80 of 392 posts
Re: ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do sympathise, but IAP can be implemented in useful ways. For example games with DLC such as extra campaigns or game modes. I'm a big fan of a war game on iOS that offers additional maps as IAPs. Unfortunately most IAPs are in the form of pay to win crap like gems and coins, but it doesn't have to be that way.
The App Store also shows the list of IAPs for an app so you can distinguish between the add-on and garbage style before installing.
^This.
When I see "This app has IAP" or whatever the copy is I just scroll down and see if the IAP looks like:
* 1 month subscription
* 1 year subscription
* Lifetime subscription
OR
* Full Unlock
OR
* Level pack 1
* Level pack 2
* Level pack 3
OR
* 10 gems
* 20 gems
* 30 gems
...
If it's one of the first 3 then I'm more than happy to get the app. I don't mind paying through IAP to unlock the full app, pay for a subscription (within reason), or get more content. I am completely uninterested in using a fake digital currency inside your app. Doing that tells me everything I need to know about the app and the developer(s) behind it.
In my book every "free-to-play" game that monetizes like this (even if they try to say they aren't "pay-to-win"/"pay-to-play") is trash. I don't want to hear "It's a fun game and you don't have to pay to enjoy it/play it", that's bullshit. I've yet to play an example of such a game that didn't (eventually) make the game unplayable/unbeatable without paying.
Re: ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
#73From the article : Apple responded, saying that free companion apps to paid online services are no longer required to have in-app purchases as of September 11, 2020. As long as paid upgrades are not offered through the app and it has no notifications to customers about an external subscription service, everything is fine. So....
Right, but notice the poison pill: "... no notifications to customers about an external subscription service". Protonmail has a free tier, subject to resource limits: https://protonmail.com/pricing What should the app do when those limits are hit that Apple could not choose to call a "notification"?
Considering it's protonmail, email them the notification.
Re: ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's awful that in today's world, a feature of a platform is that they don't partake in a particular scummy business practice. It's a shame that we even have this issue.
Blame the "no regulation" crowd for that. Well functioning regulation and consumer protection is what promotes good things by forcing bad actors to get in line.
In theory, a competitive market could achieve the same goals, but in practice, it seems like marketplaces often need some regulatory nudging to get over the humps.
Re: ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
#75Google/Apple should drop the percentage. 30% is too high.
Honest question, should Sony/MS/Nintendo also drop their percentage? How about the cut stores get to put products on their shelves?
Because whenever I zoom out and look at more that just Google/Apple the more I see examples of this happening everywhere and I wonder why there isn't similar outrage. Like with the whole "FB mad that Apple wouldn't let them call out the 30% cut" thing, I mean Kroger isn't going to let a company print on their box "Kroger takes 30% of this sale"...
Re: ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's awful that in today's world, a feature of a platform is that they don't partake in a particular scummy business practice. It's a shame that we even have this issue.
Blame the "no regulation" crowd for that. Well functioning regulation and consumer protection is what promotes good things by forcing bad actors to get in line.
In my experience the no regulation crowd is the same as the "I should be able to monetize in any way possible no matter how gross the practice is" and they generally think other people are stupid and are willing to take advantage of that
Re: ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
#77I'm actually happier to pay a small premium for IAP based subscriptions because of the cancellation options. Having been subjected to asinine "retention" policies that make ending a subscription service an onerous and time consuming process (ex: NYT), and having seen first hand how a company purposefully makes subscription cancellations difficult, being able to open a single interface and click `Cancel` is a massive…
No reason to think that this UX can't be duplicated in non-Apple app stores. It only artificially looks like that because Apple forces users and devs to only use their store. If users don't trust other App stores, they can simply avoid using them. Millions of people trust non-apple online stores with their money. Apple doesn't have a monopoly on good customer service either.
Re: ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
#78I am sure if Apple dropped the percentage to single-digit, no developer would argue the value that IAP provide, the problem has always been the exorbitant 30%.
Re: ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
#79I'm actually happier to pay a small premium for IAP based subscriptions because of the cancellation options. Having been subjected to asinine "retention" policies that make ending a subscription service an onerous and time consuming process (ex: NYT), and having seen first hand how a company purposefully makes subscription cancellations difficult, being able to open a single interface and click `Cancel` is a massive…
Yes, Apple subscriptions are a reliable way to signup for HBO or Showtime to binge-watch a specific show. Signup and immediately cancel the subscription, that gives you 30 days to watch. No further payment management actions needed.
Re: ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
#80From the article : Apple responded, saying that free companion apps to paid online services are no longer required to have in-app purchases as of September 11, 2020. As long as paid upgrades are not offered through the app and it has no notifications to customers about an external subscription service, everything is fine. So....
They can also change it back any time they wish and on an app by app basis.