Apple’s Response to Dutch Dating Apps

I’ve been beating the “this won’t end how you think it will” drum for a while.

Apple just fired it’s opening salvo:

Developer dot Apple dot com

storekit-external-entitlement/

TL:DR

You owe us 27% of your revenue flowing through the external payment link for App Store related purchases.

You now have to track it all at your expense.

We have the right to audit you and still kick you out of the Developer Program if you don’t comply.

And I expect this is just the first that we see if this and it will get broader over time.

What do you want to bet they will start looking at any revenue earned as a result of displaying content in an iOS app?

Facebook…we see that you’ve been selling and displaying ads to our customers for … how long now? 27% of that looks *really* good to your finance department.

I’ll draw your attention to this:

Commission and sales reporting

Consistent with the ACM’s order, dating apps that are granted an entitlement to link out or use a third-party in-app payment provider will pay Apple a commission on transactions. Apple will charge a 27% commission on the price paid by the user, net of value-added taxes. This is a reduced rate that excludes value related to payment processing and related activities. Developers will be responsible for the collection and remittance of any applicable taxes, such as the Netherlands’ value-added tax (VAT), for sales processed by a third-party payment provider.

Developers using these entitlements will be required to provide a report to Apple recording each sale of digital goods and content that has been facilitated through the App Store. This report will need to be provided monthly within 15 calendar days following the end of Apple’s fiscal month. To learn about the details that will need to be included in the report, view an example report. Qualifying developers will receive an invoice based on the reporting and will be required to remit payment to Apple for the amount invoiced within 45 days following the end of Apple’s fiscal month. In the future, if Apple develops technical solutions to facilitate reporting, developers will be required to adopt such technologies.

Please note that Apple has audit rights pursuant to the entitlement’s terms and conditions. This will allow Apple to review the accuracy of a developer’s record of digital transactions as a result of the entitlement, ensuring the appropriate commission has been paid to Apple. Failure to pay Apple’s commission could result in the offset of proceeds owed to you in other markets, removal of your app from the App Storeor removal from the Apple Developer program.