TapTechNews August 9th news, Apple today announced some updates to its EU Digital Markets Act compliance plan, and the new rules canceled Apple's previous restrictions on app external links for developers. At the same time, Apple has also introduced another fee structure, specifically for the AppStore LinkOut paid commission.
Previously, Apple strictly regulated how apps in the EU region added external links, including requiring that the links be statically defined and directly jump to the app's official website, and not allowing any parameters to identify the logged-in user in the URL.
In today's new rule changes, all these restrictions have disappeared. Apps can provide actionable links that contain any number of dynamic URLs. These links can take users to any website, including as a way to promote other sales channels (such as alternative app markets). URLs can contain parameters as long as these parameters are not used for advertising or user analysis.
In addition, the original external links of the app needed to jump to the browser to access, such as Safari. In the new rules, Apple now allows in-app direct opening of embedded Web views to access external links.
Of course, such a lax external link rule naturally has supporting charging measures, Apple is introducing a two-level charging system for app external links, including InitialAcquisitionFee (initial purchase fee) and StoreServicesFee (store service fee). TapTechNews summarizes the rules as follows:
Initial purchase fee: The commission generated from the sale of digital goods and services on any platform where a new app user makes a purchase in the service. This applies to the first 12 months after the initial download of the app, and has the right to link output.
Store service fee: The commission for the sale of digital goods and services, also applies to purchases made on any platform. The store service fee applies for a fixed 12 months from the date of installation, update, or reinstallation of any app.
In simple terms, if a user downloads an app on an iPhone and is a new user, it is considered the source of sales through Apple's channels. In the next 12 months, if the user independently navigates to the service website of the app on any device (not limited to Apple devices) for a purchase, then Apple will take a commission, which is the initial purchase fee.
After 12 months, if the user continues to use the app, then Apple will continue to take a commission for 12 months, which is the store service fee. If the user has deleted the app, then Apple will no longer charge the store service fee. After the user reinstalls the app, the store service fee continues to take effect.
This fee only applies to newly purchased digital goods or services. This means that no fees need to be paid for existing subscriptions and renewals as long as the user has made a purchase on another channel before downloading the app on the Apple side. In addition, the rates of these two new fees vary depending on the developer's situation.
If the app developer chooses to operate according to the EU alternative business terms, a CoreTechnologyFee (core technology fee) is charged, and the rest of the fees are charged as follows:
Initial purchase fee: 5%
Store service fee: 10% (for members of the AppStore Small Business Program, or reduced to 5% for qualifying renewals after one year).
If the app developer continues to provide the app in the AppStore according to the standard business terms, no core technology fee is charged, but the related external link purchase commission will be increased:
Initial purchase fee: 5%
Store service fee: 20% (reduced to 7% for members of the AppStore Small Business Program, or for qualifying renewals after one year).
Apple claims that the new fee structure red uces the cost for developers, and previously Apple would charge up to 17% of the external link fee and core technology fee.