Decentralized social media app Damus says Apple rejected an app update and told the company to remove its tipping feature or use Apple's in-app purchase system
Damus, a decentralized social networking app backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, will be removed from the App Store due to Apple's strict payment rules.
TechCrunchAisha Malik
Context & Ripple Effects
Damus launched on the App Store in February with E2EE direct messages built on the Nostr protocol Jack Dorsey funded, and was pulled from China days later at Beijing's request. The tipping fight has been escalating since mid-June, when Apple first threatened delisting and demanded bitcoin tips be stripped from posts while leaving profile tips alone (Apple's earlier delisting threat).
The new rejection of the entire app update hardens that stance into an ultimatum: remove tipping altogether or route it through Apple's in-app purchase system. It is a direct replay of the 2017 playbook, when Apple told WeChat and other Chinese social apps to disable tip buttons on grounds that voluntary tips are in-app purchases entitled to Apple's 30% cut (the WeChat tipping crackdown), a rule later codified in App Store guidelines (classifying virtual-currency tips as in-app purchases).
First-order effects
Damus faces removal from the App Store unless it strips bitcoin tipping from posts or rebuilds it on Apple's payment rails, surrendering a cut of creator payments that currently flow peer-to-peer over Nostr.
Second-order effects
Other decentralized social clients building on Nostr and similar protocols now know Apple will enforce the same tipping rule against them, pushing developers toward web apps or sideloading-eligible platforms to keep native payments out of Apple's cut.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, protocol-based social networks face a structural fork on iOS: either accept platform taxation on peer-to-peer value transfer or cede iOS distribution — reinforcing the case for regulatory pressure on app store payment rules as the only lever left for developers.
The trend: App store gatekeepers are extending their take-rate rules from digital goods to peer-to-peer payments like tipping, forcing decentralized social apps to choose between iOS reach and payment sovereignty.
Looks like we are getting removed from the appstore even after updating our app to make it clear that no digital content is getting unlocked when users are tipped. Users are only ever tipped after posts are made, the idea that content is being sold is nonsense. We will be filing …
Removed from the App Store for enabling tipping to everyone in the world without the need for a bank, payment card, or government permission. https://appleinsider.com/...
Concerning, but highlights the necessity of decentralizing all aspects of critical public infrastructure, including device manufacturing, operating systems and distribution. https://twitter.com/...
Only solution for apple if they want to keep some control will be to implement account abstraction in some form. They will be able to provide apis for crypto payments too then. https://twitter.com/...
This is frustrating as fuck. Hoping Apple/Google reverses course here for @damusapp. And/or new stores emerge that are more wide open. https://twitter.com/...
The problem I have with this line of argumentation: even if payments were unlocking content, it should be none of Apple's business. Arguing that tips are not unlocking content is implicitly legitimizing Apple's policy of content monetization with in-app purchases only. https://tw…
Maybe most Bitcoiners should have 2 phones: 1 to communicate (e.g. FaceTime, iMessage, gmail, Maps) to live life in the fiat world. Another for Bitcoin, privacy, security stuff based on DIY FOSS hardware or at least Calyx OS or something. https://twitter.com/...
@daybreak957 @WalkerAmerica We are not taking any cut. Why does apple think they deserve a cut of p2p transactions? Do they take a cut of venmo or cashapp transactions? How are we different?
I've used @Apple products for years. I've been very reluctant to move platforms. But this extractive approach isn't good for society & I'm going to need to start assessing other options. You don't get to own revenue from others' efforts. We really need viable open source mobile. …
Dear @Apple, I have never used @damusapp to pay for or unlock digital content. I have never used Damus to purchase (or sell) anything at all. Tips/donations are NOT associated with receiving digital content in any way. All content on #nostr is FREE. Please fix your mistake. https…
Welcome back all #Bitcoin-ers who “escaped” to Damus for a decentralised social network downloaded from a centralised App Store. It was like “Bitcoin Twitter 2015” 😂 Glad I haven't wasted anytime on Nostr. Could care less about the rest, but I care @americanhodl8 is back here. ht…
Reason #175 why @Apple needs to allow alternative App Stores. Or be forced to by regulators. Classic, damaging monopolistic behavior. So many examples of heavy-handedness with Apple's so-called developer partners. https://twitter.com/...
LMAO this is exactly the tecent/wechat and apple conflict back to 2018. You may know wchat is the most important app in China and even apple dare not to remove it. With the background you may surprised that it taken over one year to be resolved. Good luck😂 https://twitter.com/...