According to Apple, the epidemic isn't over. The deferral of the App Store rule that allowed app developers to circumvent Apple's in-app purchase system for specific services that had been forced to go virtual due to ongoing Covid outbreaks has once again been pushed back by the iPhone maker. Apple will continue to defer its App Store Review Guideline 3.1.1, which requires paid online group services to be offered via in-app purchases.
The developers who built their original business models around in-person events have been able to forgo Apple's requirement to use its in-app purchase system during the Pandemic.
Apple had only dropped the in-app purchase requirement on person-to-person services like a medical consultation between a doctor and patient, a tutoring session between a teacher and student, a real estate tour between a realtor and client, or a fitness training session between a trainer. Apple was criticized by Meta for charging commission on group services events that could hurt small businesses during a global pandemic.
Facebook had an ulterior motive. It wanted Apple to allow it to use Facebook Pay, its own payments system, where it was waiving fees, instead of Apple's in-app purchases. Facebook would have been able to onboard many thousands of customers if Apple had only agreed.
Apple temporarily deferred its own fees for online group services, including one-to-few and one-to-many services, like online seminars or group yoga classes. Meta criticized Facebook Pay for not giving any advantages to small businesses crushed by the Pandemic, while also profiting off the backs of small businesses.
Apple had to keep pushing back the deadline that would have ended the deferral and returned these businesses to the in-app payments system. The deadline for the deferral was extended in November 2020. It was extended to December 31, 2021. The deadline was approaching last November.
Apple pushed the deadline again because of the impacts of the omicron variant.
The company says impacted developers will have until June 30, 2022, to return to Apple's in-app purchase system.
Due to the complexity of implementing this requirement, the company is extending the deadline to implement account deletion inside apps that allow for account creation. When businesses are struggling with office closings, staff out sick with Covid, and kids attending virtual school at home, it is even more difficult to implement a change like this.
At a time when Apple's in-app purchase business model is under attack from many sides, the extensions were announced quietly over the weekend. The company is engaged with a lawsuit with Epic Games, now under appeal, and was just fined by a Dutch regulator for not complying with antitrust rules as Apple continues to force developers to use its in-app purchase infrastructure for third-party payments. The company had to comply with a similar rule in South Korea.
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