ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'

Re:ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Maf... by yyyk on Friday October 09, 2020 @07:25PM (#24735428)

Users who don't like Apple policies are often told to 'switch to Android'. But how one does that when the subscription cannot be managed without an Apple device/account and there's no way to 'pass' your subscription directly to the merchant?

That's pretty much the definition of lock-in - there's no way to cut Apple out. Apple on the other hand could remove the user out by banning all its subscriptions - which is far more damaging than any one merchant deciding to do so. The power imbalance is utterly on Apple's side.

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Re:ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Maf... by dane-pgp on Friday October 09, 2020 @11:20PM (#24736476)

You're right. The "just switch to Android" excuse is so disingenuous, as the problem here is not just the switching cost for users, but the cost for businesses who might only employ iOS developers.

Saying that a company "just" has to fire most of its staff if Apple ever detrimentally change their App Store rules is more obviously unreasonable than telling a user to buy a new phone.

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Re:ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Maf... by marketingPro on Friday October 09, 2020 @09:25PM (#24736007)

Hmm interesting dilemma I hadn't considered. I've been pretty okay with blaming low information consumers for buying any Apple product, but this is totally different.

How can users escape Apple? You are not the first person to complain about getting locked in because they used an Apple account.

I don't have a good solution, but maybe this will be a good lesson you can carry on for the rest of your life.

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