Apple's “clarifications” as part of its settlement will not make much of a difference in the long run for developers or to how the App Store actually works

Apple isn't changing how the App Store works because Apple doesn't want it to change — Apple made waves this week …

The Verge 2021-08-29 Chaim Gartenberg

Context & Ripple Effects

Apple had already made a limited procedural concession by allowing appeals of specific App Store guideline violations without holding up bug fixes. The settlement clarifications fit that incremental pattern rather than a transfer of control over App Store rules.

Follow-on coverage found that web-signup links were restricted to apps that generate little revenue for Apple, sharpening the concern that formal rule changes leave the most commercially significant developer relationships largely intact.

First-order effects

Apple retains practical control over how the App Store operates, while developers receive clarifications that the article argues do not materially alter their operating terms.
Developers whose businesses depend on App Store distribution gain little immediate leverage over Apple’s existing policies.

Second-order effects

Netflix and Spotify-style services face a narrower path to steer users to web signup if the revised-link rules exclude apps important to Apple’s revenue.
Apple’s limited changes make App Store policy scope—not merely the existence of an appeal or link mechanism—the central point of contention for developers.

Third-order effects

The pattern points to platform settlements producing configurable compliance measures while preserving the operator’s policy discretion, unless court or regulatory requirements define broader obligations.
Pressure for substantive App Store change persists: related coverage characterizes Apple’s Epic win as still requiring major changes to satisfy courts and developers.

The trend: App Store governance is moving toward narrowly scoped concessions that preserve platform control while developers and legal challenges press for enforceable changes to distribution and monetization rules.

Discussion

@rjonesy Ryan Jones on x
23. Ah, this letter explains everything: - Apple was gonna win - so getting anything is a win for the dev - and Apple just wants it over - so here's the min. possible money and “change” Dev gets to show big number and “change”. Apple gets to stop publicly fighting their devs. htt…
@macton93 Michael Acton on x
To put this #Apple settlement in perspective: $100 million is roughly the amount that Apple made off @EpicNewsroom's Fortnite game *alone* while it was on the store. Peanuts. https://twitter.com/...
@ilicco @ilicco on x
So just to clarify, the complaint was about Apple taking 30% of app revenue as payment... and the result is lawyers took 30% of the fund Apple are giving to small app developers when they usually only get 25%. Too funny. https://twitter.com/...
@macton93 Michael Acton on x
True that #Apple is offering some concessions, but none of them go to the heart of the antitrust dispute (regardless of which side of it you are on). App Store still only store on iOS, steering customers in-app still banned, IAP still mandatory. https://twitter.com/...
@nytimesbusiness @nytimesbusiness on x
Apple and the people who sued it for abusing its control of the mobile-app market reached a deal that they claim as a major concession from Apple. Yet some of Apple's critics called it a “sham” that did little to change Apple's control over apps. https://t.co/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
Here's @cgartenberg laying it out: https://www.theverge.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
People keep tweeting this thread with “Apple needs to fix this” and.... no, they don't *need* to do anything. That's what lock-in and monopolies allow for! If anyone could compete for these developers Apple would have an actual incentive to change. https://twitter.com/...
@martinsfp Martin Sfp Bryant on x
“Apple isn't changing how the App Store works because Apple doesn't want it to change” https://www.theverge.com/...
@danielpunkass Daniel Jalkut on x
🚨 Alarms should be going off at Apple Park because Cabel and @panic are among the most taciturn and willing to compromise of Apple's developer base. If Apple loses folks like Cabel, they lose everything important. 🚨 https://twitter.com/...
@marcoarment Marco Arment on x
Also worth noting that Apple-platform developers are not a unified or organized group in any way. “Developers” didn't sue. Apple didn't make a deal with “developers”. Some people sued, and Apple made a deal with them. Most developers were uninvolved, unaware, and unrepresented.
@drbarnard David Barnard on x
What's especially bizarre about Apple's PR spin is that this settlement is supposed to be about appeasing developers, but we're the ones who see right through the spin. Which further erodes developer sentiment. And that's a problem. @BenBajarin's take from June: https://twitter.c…
@jacknicas Jack Nicas on x
I really disagree with the framing around the tech press tonight that Apple's new settlement with developers represents a big concession. I don't see how this changes much. Some companies pretty much already do what Apple says it is suddenly allowing. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Vox Peter Kafka on x
Apple has changed its App Store rules, and Apple's critics aren't satisfied
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
The entire thing was orchestrated to... 🎶accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative.🎶 https://500ish.com/...
@sarthakgh Sar Haribhakti on x
“Such as email” — oh, thank you so much Apple for that privilege. Apple is committing not to shoot down any carrier pigeons bringing word of outside-of-apps payment mechanisms. Unless the users don't opt-in to carrier pigeons. Then Apple can shoot away. What about smoke signals?"…
@siegel Rich Siegel on x
I currently have a bug-fix update held up because of a profoundly incorrect rejection. The reviewer didn't understand a feature that's been in @bbedit since 2002. The behavior isn't what the reviewer claimed. Here's part of my response. Sounds like @SamJ0hn deserves a cake too. h…
@cabel @cabel on x
Also, sorry, one more rant. With the exception of maybe Uber and Airbnb, App Review isn't kidding when they say they treat all developers the same, as every good app in the App Store, no matter how beloved, has at least five horror stories just like this: https://twitter.com/...
@dermdaly Dermot Daly on x
App Tracking Transparency rules seem a mess. We had an app rejected for claiming it's business model was enticing the user into tracking (it wasn't). We had 3 calls with the App Review team who eventually agreed and then expedited the review. That was 2 months back....
@ourielohayon Ouriel Ohayon on x
@benedictevans @TechmemeChatter Had episodes like those above at least 3 times. No idea how many have but i talked to a LOT of developers with comparable issues. They are just not public about it. That said you can resolve most with some work
@ourielohayon Ouriel Ohayon on x
I think every mobile app developer would relate here. In particular in crypto. The app store review process is THE biggest tax on developing apps. Not the 30%. That said with years you learn how to deal. Plan and anticipate and resolve those cases. But it's painful https://twitte…
@gruber John Gruber on x
Must-read thread. The thing that really gets me about this story is that Hopscotch is a great, well-established, award-winning app. https://twitter.com/...
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
A day later, the app was rejected again. At this point, I didn't know what to do. I was in a Kafkaesque universe where I had to blindly guess at what could be wrong and randomly change things until the bureaucrats let me through (with a one-day delay).
@pilky Martin Pilkington on x
I sometimes get asked why I didn't put @coppiceapp on the Mac App Store. It's because releasing an app is hard enough, so if you can avoid the App Store then it's one less thing to stress about https://twitter.com/...
@bryanjclark Bryan Clark on x
(This stuff is why I very-rarely bothered to file radars, and a part of why I switched my day-job from iOS to web. Why waste hours building software to sell Apple hardware if they're going to have such systemic disrespect?) https://twitter.com/...
@patrickmoorhead Patrick Moorhead on x
Most iOS ISVs fear @Apple reprisal from speaking out. Not this one. Yet another nightmare Apple iOS App Store story. $AAPL https://twitter.com/...
@dermdaly Dermot Daly on x
.. and today, we submitted a minor bug fix. Guess what ? Rejected for the same reason as a couple of months back. I appealed. “A representative from the app review team will call you in 3 to 5 business days” Groundhog Day.
@mjtsai Michael Tsai on x
@siegel @SamJ0hn I think I've only heard of one case where the bug fix *was* allowed to go through, and it was still delayed in the sense that it got rejected and the developer had to apply to take advantage of the new “no delay” rule.
@mjtsai Michael Tsai on x
@siegel ... “For apps that are already on the App Store, bug fixes will no longer be delayed over guideline violations except for those related to legal issues.” ;-(
@suchipi @suchipi on x
Apple's App Store review process is marketed as a way to ensure only quality apps are in its store, but in reality it's a tool that gives Apple total control over the only app market available on a quarter of the world's smartphones. Apple cuts off its competitors to beat them.
@thomasareed Thomas Reed on x
There are so many stories like this about the App Store review process, I wonder if any developers at all have ever gotten through the process without any issues. And it really makes you wonder how all those apps offering $100/week scam subscriptions make it through. 😒 https://tw…
@yohosiefgc Dawn ‘Yohosie’ Hosie on x
Every app I have released on the app store has been rejected for Sillier and Sillier reasons. I honestly don't know who passes the first time**** ****Not Twitter, to be 100% clear. Not my role. https://twitter.com/...
@suchipi @suchipi on x
Had a similar experience as an app developer in the past. We couldn't fix a critical issue affecting our users for almost a month because Apple was rejecting every app submission with vague reasoning. A couple months later, Apple released a direct competitor to our product. https…
@siracusa John Siracusa on x
Imagine how much things would improve if human beings read developers' email replies to app review. https://twitter.com/...
@sippey Michael Sippey on x
Kafkaesque indeed. 🧵 https://twitter.com/...
@alexwlchan Alex Chan on x
Apple's dismissiveness and hostility towards third-party developers is one of the big reasons I've never learnt how to write apps for their platforms. (Despite using mostly Apple gear for my day-to-day computing.) https://twitter.com/...
@glitchtvbot @glitchtvbot on x
The Apple App Store Review process is totally broken and creates a worse experience for everyone who uses Apple products, but nothing will change until Apple is forced to allow competition through anti-trust lawsuits. https://twitter.com/...
@theslinker @theslinker on x
This is from an “A list” developer with a great Apple relationship. Imagine what happens to the “nobodies.” https://twitter.com/...
@spiralganglion Ivan Reese on x
Imagine how many more beautifully-crafted tools, like @MuseAppHQ, we'd all have... if living on the most advanced portable hardware didn't mean living through the most advanced kafkaesque nightmare developer story. https://twitter.com/...
@rsgnl Joe Rossignol on x
I'm tweeting a lot about this $100M settlement from Apple to US developers but I think there are big implications. If you accept $/don't opt out, you agree the App Store is not a monopoly as defined in the lawsuit. Apple said the class encompasses *99%* of developers in the US.
@lapcatsoftware Jeff Johnson on x
Yup! Apple's “system” for developers is one of the most dysfunctional bureaucracies I've ever encountered in my life. And I'm sure you all have encountered some really dysfunctional bureaucracies. This one takes the cake, and eats it too. https://twitter.com/...
@dannyroa Danny Roa on x
I would love to see governments levy heavy fines on Apple and Google but not tell them specifically what they violated just to give them a taste of their own medicine. https://twitter.com/...
@therealfitz @therealfitz on x
The App Store review process is so so broken. https://twitter.com/...
@jesse_squires @jesse_squires on x
Relevant thread for every iOS developer 👇🏼 App Store Review in 2021: still garbage https://twitter.com/...
@chalupabatmangg David on x
@SamJ0hn this triggers app submission ptsd. The worst thing is if an app gets rejected (even if it's their mistake) now you're stuck in a week long loop of back and forth until they realize they had a typo on their login 🤦🏻‍♂ ️
@denlopalo Deniz Palo on x
@SamJ0hn I can feel your anger. Didn't have this experience with Apple explicitly -but with enough other ‘gatekeepers’ like FB Marketing, Google Ads, Linkedin Marketing. It just drives you nuts esp. when you're playing by their rules & still get ‘disqualified’ because they said s…
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Make it easier to leave feedback. Filing a radar sends my blood pressure through the roof. Not to mention the brain damage I get from trying to navigate the system to reply to a months-old issue that I've already worked around by that time.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Update: to Apple's credit, they called me last night to apologize and ask for feedback. Who knows if they'll actually implement it, but at least they are listening. What would *you* change about the App Store review process?
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Per the new guidelines: if an app is held up for a reason unrelated to the update, let the app through and ask the developer to fix it in the next release.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Or some person named Leo continually pressing the reject button without ever bothering to read my message because the automated system said that I was wrong.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Measure success by the time for an app to get approved, not just the time for the developer to get a response.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
It's just the last straw. The combination of fear and the fact that I actually really *like* the people we work with at Apple kept me silent in the past.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
But this time, I needed to get it off my chest. Perhaps another developer will read this story and feel a little less alone. Or even better, maybe someone at Apple will read it and feel bad enough to make some change. Thanks for listening.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
My ideas:
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Fix App Store Connect. I didn't even mention this in my thread, but an additional hurdle was having to accept a new tax agreement before I could resubmit. The ~30 second load time + the number of clicks it takes to accomplish anything is the icing on the cake of despair.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
I don't know what's worse: an automated system with zero human oversight continually telling me (falsely) that our app is out of compliance.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
I don't have a big point in sharing this story, except to shed some light on the horrible absurdities you face as an Apple developer. This was not my first, or even worst, run-in with App Review.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
She paused for a moment while presumably looking at our case. Then said, “oh, I think the automated software must have had a glitch. It just got escalated to me, but I saw that your rejection was a mistake and wanted to call and tell you.”
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
There's a lot of talk about the 30% tax that Apple takes from every app on the App Store. The time tax on their developers to deal with this unfriendly behemoth of a system is just as bad if not worse.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
But then I noticed that I had another email from Apple with the subject: Your app, Hopscotch-Programming for kids, does not follow the App Store Review Guidelines. https://twitter.com/...
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
The people I've met who work at Apple are lovely and have been incredibly supportive of Hopscotch. But there is something rotten in a system that treats developers in this way.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
She had first called me at 3:14pm, I had received an email at 3:16 later telling me that Hopscotch was still out of compliance. Now it was almost 4pm. It seemed unlikely that she had figured this out before that very moment.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Finally, they called me back, and I talked to a representative. She asked if I planned to update my app to correct the problem.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
I'm certain that nobody on the app review team wants me or anyone else to have this type of experience. But it feels like a system optimized for the reviewers, rather than the developers publishing their apps. Like, this was an acceptable side-effect of their process.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Hopscotch is a small company, I'm the CEO, AND I write code. And that's how a lot of the best apps work! My time is limited and precious to me. The way that Apple wasted my energy, gaslighted me, and sucked my time away made me furious.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
When I looked at my voicemail, I realized the spam caller was someone from App Review. I called them back. No answer, so I left a voicemail.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
I told her as nicely as I could, that I did not know what the problem was. Our promoted in-app purchases had different titles and descriptions, contrary to the complaint from App Review. The purpose of the call was for her to tell me what I needed to change.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Now we were three days after the original release date and I was still in suspense as to what we did wrong. Throughout this time, Apple continued to send me emails reminding me that Hopscotch was not following their guidelines.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Makes sense as a guideline, except our titles and descriptions were different! Nonetheless, I changed the descriptions to be even *more* different than the titles. I replied to the message and resubmitted the app.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
So, I submitted an appeal complete with screenshots. I had two things on my side: 1. The rejection made no sense and 2. The rejection was unrelated to my app update.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
The app was rejected because “our promoted in-app purchases had identical titles and descriptions which could be confusing to users.”
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
We submitted a bug fix update to Hopscotch this weekend. We wanted to get it out quickly to get ahead of the school year—schools don't update their apps very often after downloading them.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Today, I got a call from “Potential Spam” in San Jose California. I ignored the call, as one does with spammers.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Luckily, I had a contact at Apple! I emailed them for help and carefully explained the issue. They told me to submit an appeal.
@samj0hn Samantha John on x
Here's the reply. They let us release the bug fix but told me that the rejection was valid and I would still need to update the app to comply with their guidelines. https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Only Apple knows how often this happens. At scale,it will always happen, unfortunately. But how often? Are there KPIs for mistakes? https://twitter.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
Look I hate to be a relentless cynic but *settling a lawsuit* is not “longstanding efforts to evolve the App Store” like this was all part of the plan. Without the lawsuit, there are no changes! https://www.apple.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@rjonesy Ryan Jones on x
1. Apple's press release says “clarifies”, not “changes”. 🤔 This part *sounds* like Apps can use non-App-Store purchase options - but no. It just says Apps can email offers to the customers. Like this example email. That's literally all this says. https://twitter.com/...
@rsgnl Joe Rossignol on x
This is a major news publication getting this wrong. Developers can already collect payments outside of the App Store—i.e. Netflix letting customers subscribe through its website. Apple is simply letting developers email their iOS app users to advertise this payment option. https…
@stevemoser Steve Moser on x
This model makes sense to me and should allow Netflix to expanding gaming to iOS as well. All games must be independent apps in the App Store (and go through App Review). Users will authenticate with their Netflix credentials inside the game. https://twitter.com/...

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