Facebook Defies Apple and Bypasses App Store Rules Like Fortnite

Just imagine. You have a great idea: an innovative product or a useful service. Yoga lessons? Academic support? Asian cooking lessons? You will not be alone in this situation: With the coronavirus pandemic, the number of remote services has also increased. You decide to take advantage of this opportunity and sell this service on social networksLike Facebook, Instagram, etc. And you start taking bookings.

You set a price that allows you to cover your costs and get paid, but the margin remains low to keep the amount attractive. But the amount you receive It is not always the same.. Because social networks like Facebook or Instagram can be accessed from a computer, tablet or smartphone. And who says tablet and smartphone, also says iOS and Android. Then Google and Apple.

Open rejection of transparency

In-app purchases on the App Store and Play Store must be made through the store’s in-app payment system. Apple and Google thus reassure the customer and the professional that the payment is not fraudulent. In return (and for other reasons as well), the two companies receive a commission on all payments made. Even for services sold through Facebook. It is 30% of the value paid.

In the name of transparency, Facebook has decided to transparently display the amount of commission it receives from Apple and Google in the new version of its app. In the beta version of Facebook, a line of text placed below the purchase button explains it in full: ” Apple takes 30% off this purchase “. According to Facebook, the goal is to explain why it does not receive 100% of the money paid to a service provider who sells fitness classes on Facebook.

According to the Cupertino company, which rejected this update, according to the Reuters news agency, it is unacceptable. The App Store’s rules are clear about the details of the commission: developers should not provide information ” irrelevant “. The commission is also part of it, although it is an open secret. You can read it instead in the version that is currently online ” Facebook does not take any commission for this purchase. ”, implying that others have done so.

Do not touch the sacred commission

Facebook had previously asked Apple to remove in-app purchase commissions from its product and service marketplace so that small structures, which have proliferated since the beginning of the pandemic, can receive 100% of the commission money paid by consumers. The payment for the product is made through the iOS app. Apple rejectedWe do not touch the sacred commission, although it is the subject of many investigations, including in the United States.

But Facebook is not discouraged and says it wants it one way or another. view information within the application. For example, it may be possible to display a banner in the interface without needing an update. The Reuters article also confirms that Facebook is looking to expand this transparency strategy to the Android version of the appHere again, there is the issue of commission from in-app purchases, even Google does not seem to be as sensitive about this issue as Apple.

Commissions related to in-app purchases made through apps are a recurring point of contention between Apple, Google, and developers. In recent weeks, the issue has made headlines on specialized sites like PhonAndroid when Epic Games decided to sue Apple and Google. anti-competitive practice After its flagship game Fortnite was banned from the App Store and Play Store, Epic bypassed the rules of both companies and integrated its own payment system into its game. This was obviously not well received.

Source : Reuters