More deterrent: App Store warns against apps with "external purchases"

Watch out, "external purchases": Apple is now using a conspicuous warning message to mark apps in its App Store that offer users in the EU a direct payment option for digital content – instead of integrating Apple's payment system. "This app does not support the App Store's private and secure payment system," reads the message, which is accompanied by a red warning triangle with a red exclamation mark. Instead of "in-app purchases", "external purchases" is displayed next to the store button – even if purchases are still possible in the app.

External purchases: warnings, Apple commission

Developers drew attention to the prominent notice on Thursday. He was seeing this for the first time, wrote an app developer on X. So far, only very few apps have used the new option to offer their own purchase options. Apple must now allow such direct purchases in the EU due to the Digital Markets Act in the App Store, which is classified as a gatekeeper service. The warning only appears when digital content is sold. Shopping or booking apps, in which users have also been able to enter their payment details directly for years, are not labeled in this way.

Apple makes such direct sales highly unattractive for app providers: In addition to the warnings in the App Store, there is also a full-screen warning in the app that users must first confirm before each purchase transaction. Providers and developers are also obliged to continue paying commission to Apple for the subsequent purchases of their customers –, even if these purchases are made from other hardware on the web, for example with a Windows PC in the browser. This applies to all purchases made within 12 months of installing an app or an app update.

In addition, developers of popular apps must pay Apple the "core technology fee" of 50 cents per download and year (from 1 million downloads). The EU Commission has already provisionally classified these conditions as a violation of the Digital Markets Act. According to the regulators, Apple's requirements are neither "strictly necessary nor proportionate". The company can now change this, otherwise it could face further fines.

Apple designers formulated "scary" texts

In the USA, Apple was recently forced by order to also allow apps to be purchased externally without being allowed to charge a commission. Major app providers such as Amazon and Spotify are already making use of this.

According to the court documents, Apple employees outdid themselves in formulating particularly scary warning messages ("scare sheets") to prevent users from making external purchases in apps. Apple CEO Tim Cook is said to have been personally involved in the wording. A designer from the company argued in a court hearing that "scary" does not mean "frightening" at all, but is technical language for informing users about something. This statement was "not credible" and contradicted "common sense and the totality of the evidence admitted", the judge responsible noted in her decision.

(lbe)