[rvz]

Once again Netflix is crowned as the biggest of the Les Incorruptibles on the App Store by Apple since they can get away from not only the 30% charge as it is a reader app but is able to roll their own payments on the web and still scale to many users without in app purchases.

There are probably more apps / companies who belong to this group due to secret deals by Apple, but now Apple says: No 30% charge for apps who's customers are 1-1. That's it.

Charging at scale without the app store tax is disqualified. But not for the Les Incorruptibles.

[dmitriid]

There's nothing "secret". Everybody can roll their own payment in the web. They cannot advertise alternative payment methods in the app.

See Spotify as an example.

[canofbars]

The double standard is Netflix is able to provide an app that does nothing out of the box until you register elsewhere. Other apps would get booted because they don't work without navigating elsewhere.

[dmitriid]

Other apps like Spotify, Kindle, all the music streaming and audiobook etc.? Oh wait, they are not booted.

> Other apps would get booted because they don't work without navigating elsewhere.

No. "Reader apps" get an exception to this.

[canofbars]

Those are all mega apps. If you try that as a small indie dev it won't work that way.

[dmitriid]

The vast majority of those apps aka "all the music streaming and audiobook etc" in my comment are not mega apps and work that way.

[ffpip]

Everybody can't. The Hey.com email guys did the same thing. They allowed only signing into the up. No sign up.

Then Apple made up another rule saying ''You download the app and it does not work. Therefore it has to be removed'' .

Lets keep adding more rules and exclusions as time passes. That's the Apple way of doing things.

[nodamage]

Hey is not a reader app, so the rule for reader apps does not apply.

[hu3]

Completely arbitrary rule btw.

A segment gets free pass for lower fees because it is too big to get kicked from iOS while others get shafted.

Just because they can.

[nodamage]

I don't disagree that it's arbitrary, but the person I replied to implied Apple changed the rules specifically to block Hey's app, which is not correct.

[dannyw]

It is actually correct: google invented a new “consumer” vs “business” differentiation just for Hey.com that wasn’t part of the rules.

[dmitriid]

That segment doesn't get a free pass lower fees. They get the same fees. The only difference: they can provide a log in without ability to sign up.

Everything else is the same: the fees are the same, the prohibition to use and/or advertise payment methods outside AppStore is the same etc.

[hu3]

https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/1/21203630/apple-amazon-prim...

> Apple on Wednesday confirmed the existence of a program for streaming video providers that allows those platforms to bypass its standard 30 percent App Store fee when selling individual purchases, like movie downloads and TV show rentals. The program first became public earlier today when Amazon updated its Prime Video iOS and Apple TV apps to allow in-app purchases for the first time. It is not clear how long the program has existed, but there are at least two other providers, Altice One and Canal+, currently participating, Apple confirmed.

[dmitriid]

> Everybody can't. The Hey.com email guys did the same thing. They allowed only signing into the up. No sign up.

Yes. And that's the gray area that needs to be challenged. Are email apps for private services reader apps? Yes, they probably are.

But the current guidelines specifically tell you what reader apps are [1]. So, no, there's no "secret agreement" between Netflix and Apple. They are a reader app by Apple's definition. Same as Spotify, Kindle, etc. etc.

[1] https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#rea...