Apple has just updated its policy regarding paid subscriptions to applications present in the App Store. From now on, if a developer decides to increase the price of his subscription, then he can do it automatically without warning the user.
Developers must meet certain conditions
Until then, when the subscription amount for an application increases, the user must explicitly accept this change within the application. ” The subscription is not renewed in the next billing period for subscribers who have not opted for the new price. This has resulted in some services being unintentionally terminated for users, who must take action to re-subscribe in the app, from Settings on iPhone and iPad, or in the App Store on Mac “writes Apple in a blog post.
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With its new policy, the increase in cost can be made without going through the validation stage on the user side; the apple brand still plans to warn the people concerned in advance, through e-mails, push notifications and a message within the application itself. However, it is not excluded that some people miss this information and end up paying more without knowing it.
For their part, developers must respect conditions in order to be able to put this practice in place: “ The specific terms of this feature are that the price increase does not occur more than once a year, does not exceed $5 and 50% of the subscription price, or $50 and 50% for an annual subscription, and is permitted by local law “, specifies the Cupertino company.
A way to earn more money via the App Store?
As explained MacRumors, this new policy had already been tested, at least in the United States, for some time. For example, some users have not had to accept the fact that their Disney + subscription does not increase.
In addition to unwanted unsubscribes, Apple says this update aims to provide a better in-app experience, but it should also rake in more money. As a reminder, the company automatically receives a 30% tax on all purchases made within the applications, and this of course concerns monthly or annual subscriptions.
Moreover, this practice has earned it numerous criticisms and accusations of monopoly, and has even led it to court to confront Epic Games, a fervent opponent of Apple’s practices within the App Store.