[interpol_p]

I posted the second tweet in the article which dives into one of the apps (note that nearly all the apps featured by Apple were subscription scams of a similar nature, one was non-functional, and the last one sold "coin packs" — probably the most benign of the bunch)

My main complaint is that the App Store allows developers to sell subscriptions which feature free trials that automatically convert into paid subscriptions

This system of automatically rolling-over a trial into a subscription provides zero benefit to the user. This only benefits developers who want to see extra revenue from people who forget to cancel their subscriptions prior to the trial ending

I have no idea why Apple does not prompt the user to purchase the subscription when they attempt to launch the app after the trial period. It would help a ton of people, it would prevent scam apps like this, it would drive trust in subscriptions as a business model for apps, it would help legitimate developers, and it would be good business for the App Store in the long term

There is no business sense to enabling the current trial mechanism, nor is there any benefit to users

[leppr]

> There is no business sense to enabling the current trial mechanism

Apple doesn't take their 30% cut on subscriptions?

[interpol_p]

Why throw away the user trust they have earned in the App Store for the short-term profit of subscription scams?

There's no business sense there

The trust they have in their brand is worth far more. And they are allowing it to erode by featuring scam apps and by providing a subscription mechanism which is easy to abuse

[gfxgirl]

I suspect the user will not blame Apple, they'll blame the app. So Apple gets its 30% with no repercussions.

A different problem, I'm sad about all the subscription for apps that shouldn't have one. I get Netflix having a subscription, I'm paying for new movies and bandwidth. But, I wanted a DB meter app. Every one the app store promoted was ~$6 a month or $20 a year. Nothing will change on the app, there's zero reason those apps should be a subscription. AFAIK, the ratings system is gamed as I find it hard to believe 1000s of people would rate a DB meter app, nor give it 5 stars for such a ridiculous subscription. This is also Apple's problem AFAICT, allowing fake reviews (same problem Amazon has)

[interpol_p]

In my experience with these subscription scams, non-technical users who get scammed by them do not "blame Apple" but they tend to become incredibly hesitant to purchasing apps, and no longer purchase subscriptions

If Apple (and developers) want subscription apps to become a more popular business model, they should eliminate the automatic free trial -> subscription rollover. As it stands, it's just hurting the App Store's profitability in the long term

I agree on your second point. Subscription apps are mostly unnecessary. However, I like paying for app updates and am absolutely willing to pay for something similar to a subscription: the Sketch app model

In this model, you pay for the app and get it, as well as one year of updates. After the year is up you get to keep what you bought, but if you want another year of updates you simply pay for another year. That's a subscription-like model that I totally support

[tatersolid]

Sketch is simply using the legacy “license plus upgrades/maintenance” model. Nothing innovative about that; in fact it’s what built Microsoft, Adobe, and Oracle into the giants they still are. Businesses have been buying software this way for 50 years.

[interpol_p]

It's not the same model, as you're not paying for version 1.0, 2.0, etc.

With Sketch, for the year since your purchase, you receive all updates. Whether they are major or minor.

I get that it sounds similar to legacy licensing models, but it is not the same. I think it's a good blend of patronage/subscription and keeping-what-you-paid-for

With the old 1.0/2.0 paid upgrade model, you could go years before the next major version. You also got different tiers of upgrade pricing: upgrading to 3.0 from 1.0? Or from 2.0? Or are you buying 3.0 outright?

With something like Sketch, any time you pay $100, you get the latest and greatest for one year. If you want to take a break you're not financially punished for skipping updates

So I would say the Sketch model is quite a bit different

[leppr]

Do you really have enough trust in the Apple App Store curation to just pay for random apps?

Last time I tried doing that, the app was bugged and Apple refused to refund.

My personal impression is that it's already overflowing with "soft scams", which has the same end result for users (wasting their money and/or time), whether the apps technically abide by the store rules or not.

[interpol_p]

That's not what I said?

Apple is hurting the App Store more by allowing an automatic free trial to subscription roll over. And in this case, it's a clear cut zero benefit for users

I'm not suggesting the App Store is perfect, but this seems like an obvious fix for a whole class of issues without harming the user one bit. It even helps Apple by making the App Store more profitable in the long term