Sources: after Airbnb and ClassPass began selling virtual classes, Apple wanted to collect its 30% commission on the sales, up from no fee previously
After Airbnb and ClassPass began selling virtual classes because of the pandemic, Apple tried to collect its commission on the sales.
New York Times
Context & Ripple Effects
This report lands mid-arc in the App Store commission fight: when pandemic lockdowns pushed Airbnb and ClassPass to sell live classes through their iOS apps, Apple moved to apply its standard 30% cut where none had been collected before. It is the same enforcement posture later documented across categories — NFT startups restricting iOS app functionality rather than pay the commission on trades, and Fanhouse adding a 50% surcharge for iOS in-app purchases after pushing back on the 30% rate.
The economics explain why developers resist: per Sensor Tower's analysis, Apple's commission expansion touches roughly 98% of paying developers while they generate under 5% of App Store revenue — so the burden falls hardest on exactly these smaller service sellers.
First-order effects
Airbnb and ClassPass face a direct margin hit on virtual classes sold through iOS, forcing a choice between absorbing the 30% fee, raising prices in-app, or steering purchases off-platform.
Small developers like Fanhouse — not the top revenue generators that dominate App Store spend — bear most of any commission expansion, since they make up nearly all of Apple's paying developers but under 5% of revenue.
Second-order effects
Developers respond by repricing around the platform: Fanhouse's iOS surcharge passes the commission to buyers, and startups limit what their apps can do rather than hand over 30% of transactions.
Every new category Apple extends the commission into — fitness classes, creator earnings, NFT trades — becomes fresh ammunition for the antitrust and developer-relations pressure documented in later commentary on Apple's confrontational stance.
Third-order effects
If Apple keeps asserting the 30% rate across new transaction types, the fight moves from individual developer disputes to structural questions: the 2021 court ruling left Apple room to still pursue commissions even from developers using their own payment methods, keeping the legal battle open.
A durable pattern of expanding take rates into adjacent digital services would push regulators to treat the App Store commission as a regulated platform fee rather than a private pricing decision.
The trend: Apple is extending its 30% App Store commission into whatever digital services migrate onto iOS — from fitness classes to creator platforms to NFTs — and each extension converts more developers into opponents of the take rate.
“Apple maintains a clear, consistent set of guidelines that apply equally to everyone.” Now excuse us while we negotiate separate rules for these two different companies. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Apple said that it was merely enforcing a decade-old rule, and that waiving its commission wouldn't be fair to the many developers who have paid it for years. Read the rest of my story with @dmccabe here: https://www.nytimes.com/...
ClassPass balked. After covid, it had dropped its own commission on virtual classes, meaning Apple's cut would've come directly from the local fitness centers, yoga studios & boxing gyms. Instead, ClassPass halted virtual classes in its iPhone app. https://www.nytimes.com/...
New: When the pandemic forced gyms to close, ClassPass switched to selling virtual fitness classes. Then Apple called: Because the classes were now online — versus at a local gym — Apple was entitled to a 30% cut. https://www.nytimes.com/...
The pandemic has opened a new front in the conflict between Apple and developers over App Store fees: Should Apple take a cut when a service goes virtual? @jacknicas https://www.nytimes.com/...
Incredible that Apple did not put an exec on the record to defend this policy - especially with Tim Cook set to defend it before Congress tomorrow. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
News w/ @jacknicas: Airbnb started selling virtual experiences in the pandemic. Weeks later, Apple said Airbnb had to pay its 30% in-app payment fees. If they don't come to terms, Apple said Airbnb could lose its spot in the App Store. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Both companies have talked with House offices as lawmakers prepare to question Apple chief executive Tim Cook tomorrow, alongside other tech CEOs. https://www.nytimes.com/...
The apps' experiences raise questions about Apple's ability to enforce its terms and fees on anyone who wants access to an iPhone user. Companies like Spotify — which offers a competitor to Apple Music — have largely been the face of this fight so far. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Airbnb isn't the only company to experience this. ClassPass heard from Apple when it started selling online workout classes. It has changed its practices in response. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Apple demanding a 30% cut of Airbnb's pivot to virtual experiences or threatening to remove them from the App Store is yet another great piece of free evidence for an antitrust case! https://www.nytimes.com/...