Apple has updated its App Store payment policies to allow developers to directly contact customers
Developers will be free to ask users for basic information like names and e-mail addresses as long as it is voluntary and not essential to use their app, according to Apple.
Apple announced a big change to its App Store payment policy on Friday, allowing developers to disclose information to their users about making payments outside the App Store while avoiding Apple’s 15 to 30% charge.
According to Apple’s new guidelines, developers will be free to ask users for basic information like names and e-mail addresses as long as it’s voluntary and not essential to use their app.
Apple previously prohibited developers from sending users to their websites to pay for digital things via email. “To provide developers even more freedom in reaching their customers, Apple is also clarifying that developers can send information about payment options outside of their iOS app using communications, such as email,” Apple stated in a statement.
“Developers will not pay Apple a commission on any transactions made outside of their app or the App Store, as is customary.
Users must give their agreement to be contacted and have the option to opt-out. Developers may avoid paying Apple’s fees and, moreover, exert competitive pressure on Apple to discipline its pricing by advising customers of alternative payment choices, according to the company.
It’s worth noting that Apple’s new payment policy still prevents developers from having their own payment system. Apple, on the other hand, will no longer prohibit developers from incorporating external connections that bring clients to purchasing mechanisms, allowing developers to communicate with customers via points of contact received freely from customers through account registration.
In the meantime, Google stated last week that, beginning January 1, 2022, it will reduce its Play store prices for all subscription-based services from 30% to 15%.
Apple’s new update, according to the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a think tank with more than 440 digital startups, is a major victory for the developer and startup community, which has been vocal about the two big tech giants’ restrictive and anti-competitive practices through their AppStore/Play Store policies.
