A game emulator called Delta is taking advantage of the recent court decision around Apple’s App Store to be able to support its business by linking to its Patreon membership page. The update, approved Wednesday for release on the U.S. App Store, allows Delta users to join the Delta team’s Patreon directly from the mobile app, without giving Apple a cut of its subscriptions.
The move follows last week’s court ruling that forced Apple to fully open up its U.S. App Store to external purchases, after a years-long fight with Fortnite maker Epic Games. Though Apple largely won that antitrust lawsuit, a judge ruled that the tech giant had not properly followed the court’s orders in one key area: in-app purchases.
Apple previously vetted which apps could link out to their websites and added screens to scare users away from making purchases through external payment mechanisms. All the while, it was still charging a commission on those web sales of 27%, down from its usual 30%.
After Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple had failed to comply with her original injunction, Apple changed its App Store rules for the U.S. Since then, businesses like Spotify, Amazon Kindle, and Patreon have updated their iOS apps to add links to their websites where consumers can pay directly, without using Apple’s in-app purchases.
While this is a win for larger companies that now get to keep more of their profits by skirting Apple’s commission, Delta’s update is an example of how the ruling makes way for new business models for monetizing mobile apps.
That change could give the App Store the boost it needs at a time when indie app development has been declining and every iOS release “sherlocks” (copies) more third-party apps. Smaller developers often struggle to make a living after paying a 30% commission to Apple, but now have the option to keep more of their profits thanks to the expanded support for web payments.
In the updated version of Delta’s game emulator app, users are prompted to “Join our Patreon” from the app’s Settings screen. Here, they can then click a button to subscribe to Delta’s $3 per month Patreon membership, which provides access to exclusive features and other perks.
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The web page opens inside the app, allowing users to link their Patreon accounts and choose a membership tier, like monthly or annual. (Before, users could only link a Patreon account in the app, but they couldn’t subscribe directly.)
“We can now freely mention our Patreon without giving Apple 27% of donations,” noted Delta creator Riley Testut in a post on social media, adding “Goodbye scare screens” — a reference to the previously required warnings that nudged users away from external purchase links.
Delta still includes a way to pay through Apple’s in-app purchases, as is still required. However, it’s tucked away under an “Alternative Payment Methods” menu in the Settings screen — an option many users will likely never seek out.
Hiding pro-consumer options deep within layers of menus is a trick that Apple itself has used to its advantage over the years.
For instance, if you want to turn off Apple’s personalized ads (essentially the Apple version of its required “Do Not Track” pop-up authorization for apps), you have to delve into your iOS Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll down to the very bottom of the page, tap Apple Advertising, then toggle off Personalized Ads. Or, if you want to clear the app usage data that personalizes your App Store experience, you have to go to Settings, Apps, App Store, scroll to the bottom of that page, tap Personalized Recommendations, then tap Clear App Usage Data on the screen that appears.
Apple surely can’t be mad at developers for adopting its own tactics?
Given that Delta’s app has now received approval from Apple’s App Review, it seems to follow that we’ll soon see other Patreon-supported apps emerging in the near future.
