News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Apple’s app store and other digital marketplaces [pdf] by Despegar on Wednesday July 22, 2020 @04:27PM (#23921210)
>Apple is dictating what I can tell my customers in "general communications" where Apple is not involved. That's not a free market, it's abusive. If a customer comes to my site from a search I should be able to say "Here are the purchase options. Please note that Apple takes 30% if you purchase through their store. If you purchase direct, our processing fees are only %2.5".

Everyone that argues against the rule that says you can't advertise in your apps ways to bypass the App Store for payment are basically arguing that they should be able to free ride on the platform, something discussed in this study.

>In addition, for their business model to be successful, digital marketplaces often have to rely on rules that prevent customers from free riding on their services. Free riding involves buyers and/or sellers avoiding fees after the platform has helped connect them, which means that the platform is not compensated for the successful match and the use of the platform’s technology, tools, and services to facilitate and promote valuable transactions between buyers and sellers. A review of the policies and rules of large app stores and online marketplaces that distribute physical goods and services — marketplaces for which the risk for free riding is particularly high — shows that digital marketplaces routinely forbid behaviors aimed at avoiding fees.

>In addition to the commission on paid apps and in-app purchases of digital content, services, and subscriptions, Apple imposes guidelines that govern the use of the App Store. Among those policies are rules about in-app purchases to prevent users and developers from free riding on Apple’s App Store services and investments. Apps cannot explicitly steer app users away from in-app purchases — for example, by providing external links that bypass the App Store.

Re:Apple’s app store and other digital marketplaces [pdf] by saagarjha on Wednesday July 22, 2020 @06:42PM (#23922361)
That part is not going to be popular among developers, who understand that Apple "free rides" off of them too–without them there would be no platform. There are some "free" apps that are literally cornerstones of the iPhone, to the point where people might switch to a competitor if they didn't exist.
Re:Apple’s app store and other digital marketplaces [pdf] by mthoms on Wednesday July 22, 2020 @04:30PM (#23921239)
My example was about communications with customers who come to me without Apple's help. Such as on a website that I paid for, and the customer comes to me via a Google search ad (or good SEO) that I paid for.

Ultimately, a mobile app [0] will be purchased through Apple. Should they get a commission? Of course. But since they didn't provide the "discovery" or lead generation it should be much less.

[0] I'll use mobile apps in this particular example because it's less ambiguous.

Re:Apple’s app store and other digital marketplaces [pdf] by supernova87a on Wednesday July 22, 2020 @05:05PM (#23921574)
How are we to determine who came from what source the customer came from? Offer them a choice to say, "I found this book on my own and just want to buy it here, discount = -10%"?
Re:Apple’s app store and other digital marketplaces [pdf] by mthoms on Wednesday July 22, 2020 @05:08PM (#23921599)
Referral links have been around since the late to mid 90's.