Game emulator Delta adds an in-app link to pay outside of the App Store, via Patreon, likely the first US app to use Apple's External Purchase Link Entitlement
Details: www.macstories.net/news/an-app- ... Mastodon: John Voorhees / @johnvoorhees@mastodon.macstories.net : I love that Delta is closing out the year with another pioneering app feature that shouldn't be pioneering at all, but here we are. — An App Store First: Delta Adds Patreonn Link for Purchase and Perks - https://www.macstories.net/... Threads: Riley Testut / @rileytestut : About that full-screen alert: technically, we owe Apple a commission on all donations made within 7 days of pressing “Confirm” — but that's fine! However *if* you wanted to donate without giving Apple a cut, you can: • Join our patreon THEN view the alert • View the alert and press “Cancel” … @altstoreio : 🎄 Just in time for the holidays, Delta 1.6.5 is now available & allows our patrons in the US to access exclusive features — including DS Online Multiplayer! Existing patrons, update now to link your account and enjoy your benefits 💜 Or join our Patreon for $3/mo at patreon.com/rileyshane Riley Testut / @rileytestut : Unsurprisingly it also came with some pretty strict requirements. Most notably, we had to use 1 of only 4 approved phrases. So if you're wondering why it's phrased “Buy for $3 from altstore.io/patreon”, that's because it's the only phrase that included a specific price 🙃 Some other fun requirements: … Riley Testut / @rileytestut : One small step for an app, one giant leap for the App Store: Apple-approved external purchases are here! Thanks to the “External Purchase Link” entitlement, Delta can now include a link to @shanegill.io and I's Patreon in-app 😧 More importantly … Riley Testut / @rileytestut : Before Delta was in the App Store, we offered a beta version for patrons through AltStore because all Delta users were implicitly AltStore users. Now however the majority *aren't* AltStore users, so we needed a new way to give our patrons their benefits Another wrinkle: Apple forbid us even mentioning our Patreon in Delta. … X: @altstoreio : This is only possible thanks to Epic v. Apple, allowing us to link to our Patreon and unlock benefits - what a concept! Tapping the link will even display a full-screen warning designed to protect you from checks notes Patreon creators. Thanks Apple 😊 https://www.theverge.com/... [image] Ryan Christoffel / @iryantldr : This might be the first example of a US App Store app that supports linking to external payment options. https://9to5mac.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Delta had already been central to AltStore’s distribution strategy: it launched alongside the EU store’s debut, while AltStore’s earlier plan paired app access with Patreon pledges via a Patreon-based access model. This move brings that monetization relationship into the US App Store itself.
The link uses an entitlement lineage that began with Apple allowing certain reader apps to send users to account-management websites through an external-link entitlement. Delta shows the mechanism being applied to a creator-support payment flow, albeit under Apple’s prescribed messaging and warning screen.
First-order effects
- US Delta users can reach Patreon from inside the app to support the developer and obtain associated perks outside Apple’s in-app purchase flow.
- Delta must use Apple-approved link language and a full-screen disclosure; payments made after that flow can still trigger an Apple commission, limiting the practical freedom of the external route.
Second-order effects
- The implementation gives other US developers a tested example of how to connect memberships or patronage to an iOS app, while making Apple’s entitlement conditions a key part of the economics.
- Patreon gains a more direct in-app acquisition path after its iOS memberships were placed under Apple-fee pressure through App Store subscription billing requirements.
Third-order effects
- If more apps use these links, App Store monetization may shift from an exclusive checkout system toward a controlled referral layer, where Apple retains influence through disclosures, eligibility rules, and possible commissions.
- The central competitive question becomes whether external linking meaningfully changes developer economics or chiefly adds a regulated alternative to Apple’s own payment path.
The trend: This is one data point in the gradual opening of iOS monetization, where external payment access expands but remains shaped by platform-controlled terms.