Patreon Had Spent a Decade in an App Store Gray Zone
Sarah Perez, writing for TechCrunch:
Despite Apple’s rules and policies, Patreon had existed in an odd
sort of gray area, as some of its subscription-based offerings
could be consumed in its app while others could not. Another
possible reason for the Patreon exception was due to the fact that
many users didn’t come to Patreon itself to discover creators and
content, Patreon CEO Jack Conte told tech news site The
Verge in 2021. Instead, the discovery took place through
other channels. Though the company admitted it didn’t have any
sort of special contract with Apple to avoid the App Store fees,
the app had been able to skirt Apple’s in-app billing requirements
for some time.
It wasn’t good that Patreon existed in an unofficial gray zone. But it’s hard to see how this is better for anyone, including Apple.
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Sarah Perez, writing for TechCrunch:
Despite Apple’s rules and policies, Patreon had existed in an odd
sort of gray area, as some of its subscription-based offerings
could be consumed in its app while others could not. Another
possible reason for the Patreon exception was due to the fact that
many users didn’t come to Patreon itself to discover creators and
content, Patreon CEO Jack Conte told tech news site The
Verge in 2021. Instead, the discovery took place through
other channels. Though the company admitted it didn’t have any
sort of special contract with Apple to avoid the App Store fees,
the app had been able to skirt Apple’s in-app billing requirements
for some time.
It wasn’t good that Patreon existed in an unofficial gray zone. But it’s hard to see how this is better for anyone, including Apple.