Discussion

• @photomatt Matt Mullenweg on x

  I am very grateful that folks at Apple re-reviewed @WordPressiOS and have let us know we do not need to implement in-app purchases to be able to continue to update the app. Bad news travels faster than good, usually, so please consider sharing that they reversed course.

• @photomatt Matt Mullenweg on x

  I did not expect the previous tweet to get attention outside the WP community. My understanding was the previous decision was final, and we had already made many of the arguments people suggested privately over the several weeks the app was locked.

• @ia @ia on x

  It closes with “We have informed the developer and apologize for any confusion that we have caused.” You need to read to the end to understand that they realized it was a mistake. The Verge explains it better: https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @martinsfp Martin Sfp Bryant on x

  Good. That was a baffling situation and it sounds like it was perhaps an overzealous App Store employee? https://twitter.com/...

• @markgurman Mark Gurman on x

  To clarify: Apple says WordPress did submit an app update that did let customers buy upgrade plans via the app, but not through in-app-purchase. It doesn't appear this was ever on the App Store though.

• @benthompson Ben Thompson on x

  “If you run to the press, it never helps” will always be the biggest Apple mistruth. https://twitter.com/...

• @starfire2258 Sean Hollister on x

  Huge, huge update: Apple is apologizing. WordPress won't have to add IAP. https://twitter.com/...

• @backlon Dieter Bohn on x

  Don't miss the attempt to redefine the clear and common meanings of words in this Apple statement. WordPress was ALWAYS a “free standalone app” regardless of whether it happened to mention the mere existence of commerce outside the App Store or not. https://www.theverge.com/... h…

• @tiffany Tiffany Bridge on x

  This whole thing was such an unforced error by Apple. https://twitter.com/...

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on x

  You can believe that the sandbox App Store model is a very very good thing, and that Apple's payment policies are unsustainable, and that Apple's curation of the App Store is far too often arbitrary, inconsistent and dysfunctional. https://www.theverge.com/...

• @markgurman Mark Gurman on x

  Apple says the issue with WordPress has been resolved now that WP is removing in app references to buying https://wordpress.com/ plans. https://twitter.com/...

• @timbray Tim Bray on x

  Pay attention to this; the outcome will matter: https://www.theverge.com/...

• @photomatt Matt Mullenweg on x

  I am a big believer in the sanctity of licenses. (Open source relies on licenses and copyright.) We agreed to this license when we signed up for (and stayed in) the app store, so going to follow and abide by the rules. Not looking to skirt it, hence doing what they asked us to.

• @benthompson Ben Thompson on x

  WordPress (and the app) are GPL, and App Store TOS and DRM violate GPL. Thus only the copyright holder can submit an app for all of WordPress, both self-hosted and https://wordpress.com/. Apple is thus holding millions of websites hostage for 30% of Automattic domain sales 🤷‍♂️

• @whitmer Brian Whitmer on x

  This exact thing happened with CoughDrop, but it's small enough that nobody cares. Free app for 4 years (they knew we had an external subscription), suddenly our bug fixes were held hostage until I scrambled to add iap. https://www.theverge.com/...

• @metasynthie @metasynthie on x

  I know you've heard of forcefem, but do you know about forcemon? It's where Apple forces you to monetize a free open-source app, or be booted from the app store. What? No, it's not a fetish. Well, I mean it could be, but I don't recommend https://www.theverge.com/...

• @aallan Alasdair Allan on x

  The damage that Apple are doing to their developer community will depend on how many developers working on Macs are Mac and iOS developers, and how many are developers that own Macs because it's UNIX. I used to be in the first group, but I've been in the second for a decade now. …

• @gruber John Gruber on x

  How is WordPress's app different from Hey other than that WordPress's app already includes very useful free functionality? I really don't get how this free app that doesn't sell anything or require a paid account for a service violates any App Store guidelines. https://twitter.co…

• @amarkon88 Adam Markon on x

  this is extortion. it's like a mob shakedown, holding revenue hostage because they refuse to give Apple 30%. “looks like a nice app ya got there. be a shame if something happened to it *cracks knuckles*” https://twitter.com/...

• @nash076 @nash076 on x

  I give no fucks for Epic or Fortnite, but this ... this is a problem. The best solution is to migrate away from the iPhone. It's a hindrance to actually doing things. https://twitter.com/...

• @nathanblawrence Nathan Lawrence on x

  This. It's very difficult to get excited about opening Xcode to work on my fun projects on my day off when I don't even know what the rules are anymore. https://twitter.com/...

• @jandavidhassel David on x

  Nice free app you got there. Would be shame if anything happened to it. https://twitter.com/...

• @thetacticalbrit Lachlan on x

  I really hope epic games clatter apple. https://twitter.com/...

• @voicejaybritton Jay Britton on x

  Never been so happy to not be an Apple user, this is gross beyond compare. A company has been forced to monetise its app simply so that one of the richest companies in the world can take its 30% Can capitalism die already? https://twitter.com/...

• @craiggrannell Craig Grannell on x

  Where is this coming from? Cook? Schiller? Shareholders? This is a baffling stance. I was impartial about the Epic spat, but this demand is beyond the pale. Apple urgently needs to rethink on this. The logical ramifications are a rabbithole from hell. https://twitter.com/...

• @aral Aral Balkan on x

  Wow, Apple reportedly blocked updates to the Wordpress app - which wasn't selling anything - to force @photomatt to monetise it so Apple could take a 30% cut. A $2 trillion monopoly is as a $2 trillion monopoly does. You proud of yourself, @tim_cook? https://www.theverge.com/...

• @randhindi Rand Hindi on x

  No comment: “In other words, Apple won: the richest company in the world just successfully forced an app developer to monetize an app so it could make more money.” https://www.theverge.com/...

• @martinsfp Martin Sfp Bryant on x

  This might be worse behaviour than blocking cloud gaming apps. ‘Add a feature so we can get a cut of it’: https://www.theverge.com/...

• @benthompson Ben Thompson on x

  I am admittedly puzzled as to why Apple is denying me updates to the open source app for my open source web site because one user of that app happens to sell domains. Also, I thought Apple wasn't going to hold bug updates hostage anymore? https://twitter.com/...

• @starfire2258 Sean Hollister on x

  Update: WordPress has already caved to Apple's demand. *The richest company in the world* successfully forced a developer to monetize a free app so it can make even more money https://twitter.com/...

• @ia @ia on x

  The rules are the rules, and it's good that there are not more exceptions like Amazon, but given who WordPress is, what they do, what the main function and audience of the app is, this again shines a light on rules that clearly need to be redefined. https://www.macrumors.com/...

• @ia @ia on x

  WordPress update and bug fix was held back because there was a way they could sell hosting without Apple getting a share: https://www.macrumors.com/...

• @gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x

  Apple is starting to make Microsoft of the 90s a kitten by comparison. Good reminder that Apple isn't just a benevolent force of good in the world but a two trillion dollar behemoth that holds companies livelihoods in its hands. https://twitter.com/...

• @notbrunoagain Bruno Dias on x

  Apple's view is clearly that the only software that should be allowed to run on their hardware is software that makes them money. https://twitter.com/...

• @simonw Simon Willison on x

  This 30% thing is so gross. It's genuinely putting me off the entire Apple ecosystem. https://twitter.com/...

• @glitchtvbot @glitchtvbot on x

  Apple is fucking awful and greedy. Anti trust hearings against this kind of nonsense can not come soon enough. https://twitter.com/...

• @tha_rami Rami Ismail on x

  I feel Apple has been outed as evil often enough that they have decided to just embrace it. https://www.theverge.com/...

• @anildash Anil Dash on x

  It's wild to see Apple screwing up so badly; they just keep ruining developer goodwill. The more devs find out about how they play favorites & shake down app creators, the more permanent damage they will do. This trend is far worse than antennagate or the butterfly keyboards. htt…

• @grummz @grummz on x

  Another one. Wordpress is free. https://twitter.com/...

• @soonaorlater Soona on x

  This will only get worse over time. https://twitter.com/...

• @baekdal Thomas Baekdal on x

  Also, don't forget at Apple forces this ‘warning’ open the WordPress admin app because some websites host bad content (but which has nothing to do with the Wordpress app itself). Apple is just being an absolute dick! https://twitter.com/...

• @wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x

  The wholesale price for a .com domain is $7.85 With the IAP in place, Automattic's earning per .com sale (priced at $18) will drop from $10.15 to $4.75 (-53%) https://twitter.com/...

• @brianroemmele Brian Roemmele on x

  Apple is losing the compass heading that got it to this point. These type of actions do not look good on a scrappy company from the 1970s and they look worse from a $2 trillion dollar company. I love Apple, they have valid arguments, but lead by your heart and not by lawyers. htt…

• @edbott Ed Bott on x

  Epic has a pretty powerful witness here. https://twitter.com/...

• @katiecurran_cre Katie Curran on x

  This is how you go from 1 trillion to 2 trillion in two years https://twitter.com/...

• @breakzplatform Npx Joselito on x

  a apple quer cobrar os 30% do app do wordpress mesmo ele não vendendo nada https://twitter.com/...

• @shen Shen Ye on x

  Imagine being an Apple employee on the team whose job it is to dig through perfectly compliant apps to try extort the developers to help Apple make money. https://twitter.com/...

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on x

  Waiting to see if this is another case of Apple's app store review team being arbitrary/capricious/inconsistent, or an actual shift in policy.

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on x

  This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. https://twitter.com/...

• @maxlynch Max Lynch on x

  🤦‍♂️ Apple is getting brazen https://twitter.com/...

• @newsycombinator @newsycombinator on x

  WordPressiOS Locked by App Store https://twitter.com/...

• @danielpunkass Daniel Jalkut on x

  Just when you thought Apple was done with ridiculous rejections. I would hate to give them any ideas but if the same standard were applied to @MarsEdit I'd have to make IAP deals with all the countless for-pay services I happen to support. https://twitter.com/...

• @irvinebroque Brendan Irvine-Broque on x

  Forcing companies to jump through hoops takes time away from companies that could be used to improve their product for customers. To me, that falls under the “consumer harm” part of antitrust law, given that Wordpress has no other recourse. https://twitter.com/...

• @jan_ekholm Chakie on x

  Apple is doing everything it can to really look like villains here. I for one would be happy to see Apple smacked and the App Store tax go down to, say, 2.5% for us small developers and 1% after you've earned 100€. Most developers never reach that limit anyway. https://twitter.co…

• @campuscodi Catalin Cimpanu on x

  I have a ultra major scoop: Next week, Apple will formally announce that they now own the left kidney of every person who has ever bought an iPhone. Drink lots of water, mah friends! Keep the other kidney healthy. Access to phones with semi-reliable batteries has its price https:…

• @stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x

  Unchallenged, Apple is going to start taking a cut of more and more businesses that have nothing to do with it. They'll be emboldened to be even nastier than they are today https://twitter.com/...

• @backlon Dieter Bohn on x

  If somewhere in the back of your mind you're thinking “maybe web apps can solve these app store restrictions,” remember that for reasonable security and privacy concerns, web apps on the iPhone are limited in some capabilities you'd want. https://twitter.com/...

• @jaredcwhite Jared White on x

  Apple: for the love of all that is holy, get your f%*^*$%ing iOS App Store act together! I love your products, but your business policies regarding this wing of the company are batshit crazy. https://twitter.com/...

• @baekdal Thomas Baekdal on x

  Demanding that people can't update their wordpress app until Apple get's a 30% cut domain sale is completely and totally unacceptable. Wordpress and domains are two completely separate things. https://twitter.com/...

• @jdevalk Joost de Valk on x

  Ugh this is so annoying. https://twitter.com/...

• @nitotv @nitotv on x

  something interesting about apple: every time they get called out their beavior gets worse https://twitter.com/...

• @carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x

  The floodgates are beginning to open. Apple wants a 30% cut from everyone who signs up for hosting of their Wordpress blog on an iPhone. Their app has been blocked from making updates until they make the change. Apple is strong arming the entire app ecosystem like Tony Soprano. h…

• @ismh Stephen Hackett on x

  Yet another app caught up by ... whatever the heck is happening at Apple right now. https://twitter.com/...

• @tprstly @tprstly on x

  Interesting, now that Epic has gone head on with Apple everyone is starting to question the App Store monopoly. https://twitter.com/...

• @irace Bryan Irace on x

  Apple is seemingly doing everything they can to tank their credibility amongst as wide a swath of developers as possible. https://twitter.com/...

• @tomwarren Tom Warren on x

  more Apple abuse for @vestager and team to investigate https://twitter.com/...

• @alexhern Alex Hern on x

  Speak of the devil. Apple wants a cut of the cost of buying a domain name if you do it on an iPhone. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @ow @ow on x

  “You see, subscribing on WordPress' website without us getting a cut for no reason at all, is just like robbing Best Buy” https://twitter.com/...

• @caseynewton Casey Newton on x

  So now Apple would like a cut of revenue for every site hosted by WordPress on the open web. Just some more pro-competition, throwing-the-gates-wide-open behavior from a $2 trillion company https://twitter.com/...

• @photomatt Matt Mullenweg on x

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