Hacker News Reader

Comment by samdung | Hacker News Reader

With Reference to this: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#mul...

  3.1.3(b) Multiplatform Services: Apps that operate across multiple platforms may allow users to access content, subscriptions, or features they have acquired in your app on other platforms or your web site, including consumable items in multiplatform games, provided those items are also available as in-app purchases within the app.

Can i offer a differential pricing choice within my app. In other words if user buys on my 'website' the price is $100 and if user decides to make an in-app purchase, the price is, say, $130 (100 + 30% Apple Tax)?

View on HN

Just a reminder not to use code blocks for quotes because they do not format well on mobile or web :)

You'd have to charge $143 in order to make your target of $100 after Apple takes its 30%.

The killer here is, you are not allowed to say your customers that there are other ways of subscribing.

Good luck.

Yes you can, and people do.

Yes. Spotify did this for a while, as I recall.

It would appear to me this is the perfect solution for Hey then. Put a purchase option in the app with a clear statement you can get 30% off the subscription price just by going to the website. It could even look like a great offer to prospective customers: 'hey I just needed to go to the website to get a 30% discount!'.

Any reason why they wouldn't just do this instead of trying to fight Apple on their (in this case IMO pretty egregious) rules?

Not allowed by Apple. Part of Rule 3.1.1:

> Apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.

Yes, telling customers they can simply get a discount online is prohibited. Yes, they have rejected apps for this before.

Apps are not allowed to advertise other ways of subscribing when in-app subscriptions are an option. From section 3.1.3(b) of the guidelines:

"You must not directly or indirectly target iOS users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase, and your general communications about other purchasing methods must not discourage use of in-app purchase." (https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/)

Youtube does

Reply on news.ycombinator.com