For IAP can you make it really hard for users to trigger it? For example, "solve this puzzle to access the Pay button or go to mysite.com for fast checkout".
I don't think that is something Apple would "approve".
Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
11–20 of 45 posts
Re: Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
#121) Apple has widely publicized their policy on this. 2) Apple’s ecosystem is designed to create lock in and generate monopolistic profits. This actually is the goal of all businesses until their market becomes mature. 3) At the mature stage, businesses seek to compete on price and everyone’s “economic profits” are lowered to zero. I don’t know if storage is at the point where it can be offered at breakeven at $20/yea…
"ou can decide to hurt it though by offering your product on Andriod for $20/year, and Apple for $28/year."
They tried that, that was what got them rejected the second time.
Re: Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
#13> Its all over the Internet Explorer thing happening again. But with IE at least you could tell your users to download a better browser if they want to use your app. You can not tell your users, "Buy another phone to use our service!" That's what I take from the article. People got up in arms in a way that was much stronger against Microsoft during IE's early years and whining for Netscape (who lost because they just…
Apple can get away with this because they aren't a monopoly. Their market share isn't anywhere close to the 90% that Microsoft enjoys.
They temporarily enjoyed a 90% share of tablet sales, but that has since dropped substantially. This is probably a good thing from Apple's perspective, since if it would have stayed at 90% then they probably would have the DOJ on their back for their monopolistic practices.
Re: Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
#14> Its all over the Internet Explorer thing happening again. But with IE at least you could tell your users to download a better browser if they want to use your app. You can not tell your users, "Buy another phone to use our service!" That's what I take from the article. People got up in arms in a way that was much stronger against Microsoft during IE's early years and whining for Netscape (who lost because they just…
MS came under fire, not because it bundled its own browser, but because it was bullying other companies who were bundling Netscape with their PCs. (If I am not wrong, I think MS threatened to stop doing business with HP, if they bundled Netscape with their PCs).
Apple is doing even worse, not only is it not letting any other browser to be installed, its not even letting any other app to be installed without its "Distribution System". Its forcing you to use their "Distribution System" and pay for it.
Re: Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
#15So why can't this be worked around the way everyone else does?
Don't link back to your own website from the iOS app, and don't give end-users any way to upgrade their account from the app. Have the app just ask for a username and password to authenticate with your service, and require end-users to go to your website in order to do any account management.
Re: Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
#16So why can't this be worked around the way everyone else does? Don't link back to your own website from the iOS app, and don't give end-users any way to upgrade their account from the app. Have the app just ask for a username and password to authenticate with your service, and require end-users to go to your website in order to do any account management.
No, that's what we did. But it did not work. If you are thinking about Netflix or Kindle App, 1.14 of the "App Store Review Guidelines" says: "Apps can read or play approved content (specifically magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video) that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the App, as long as there is no button or external link in the App to purchase the approved content. Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues for approved content that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the App."
So that applies to only magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video subscription/content services. "Cloud Storage" is not included in the list. This is what was told to us by the Apple guy who we were talking to.
Re: Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
#17So why can't this be worked around the way everyone else does? Don't link back to your own website from the iOS app, and don't give end-users any way to upgrade their account from the app. Have the app just ask for a username and password to authenticate with your service, and require end-users to go to your website in order to do any account management.
No, that's what we did. But it did not work. If you are thinking about Netflix or Kindle App, 1.14 of the "App Store Review Guidelines" says: "Apps can read or play approved content (specifically magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video) that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the App, as long as there is no button or external link in the App to purchase the approved content. Apple will not receive…
TYPO: That was clause 11.14, not 1.14.
Re: Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
#18> Its all over the Internet Explorer thing happening again. But with IE at least you could tell your users to download a better browser if they want to use your app. You can not tell your users, "Buy another phone to use our service!" That's what I take from the article. People got up in arms in a way that was much stronger against Microsoft during IE's early years and whining for Netscape (who lost because they just…
Re: Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
#19Only offer sign-in in the app (with no option to purchase / become a paying member). Netflix, Dropbox, Spotify, etc all do this, it's basically industry standard. Boom, done.
I would have expected this blog post 2 years ago; the fact that you were blindsided by this really doesn't give me a lot of confidence in your company. Anyone who's developed for iOS would have been able to tell you on day one that you're in serious gray-bordering-on-black territory with regards to IAP policy. Yeah, it sucks, and you can't really do anything about it. So suck it up and go with what everyone else is doing. Because so far, you've definitely lost me as a customer.
I'm an iPhone owner and I know that 1)you have no qualm about charging me more for the same service (apple's 30% notwithstanding) 2)you don't know much about iOS development and 3)your dissatisfaction with the platform makes me doubt your commitment to it in the future, and with data backup, I NEED to be confident in my service's future as well as its support of my device.
Re: Why every iPhone/iPad owner needs to read this.
#20Can you elaborate on your "100% safe and secure" claim? You appear to have a "reset your password" link, which is a big red flag that indicates to me that any data I store on your service is not private. To me "100% safe and secure" means that if you lose your password you lose your data, because it has been encrypted with the lost password.