Earlier today, a report suggested that Apple has been “secretly” buying ads for third-party applications in an effort to increase its commission earnings. Apple is now defending itself against some of those allegations, saying that it is a standard business practice in the industry…
Today’s report came from Forbes. The report said that Apple has been running advertisements for third-party applications across social media and other platforms to drive in-app purchases. The report said that Apple’s intention is to drive traffic directly to the App Store, rather than the developer’s own website, so that users end up buying subscriptions as in-app purchases – giving Apple its 15% or 30% cut.
After backlash from this report, Apple has confirmed that it is running these advertisements, but that its reasoning is nothing nefarious.
Apple told 9to5Mac that it has been placing these advertisements for third-party applications for over five years. The ads are designed to simply promote the products distributed via the App Store, similar to how retailers run advertisements for the products they sell.
Apple also refuted the idea that it is “secretly” or “quietly” running these advertisements, as stated in the original report. The company tells 9to5Mac that it regularly communicates with developers about these ads. The ads are said to be clearly labeled as being from the App Store, and are permitted under the standard Apple Developer Program agreement.
Currently, Apple says that it is running advertisements promoting more than 100 third-party applications across networks such as Google, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Twitter. The initial report from Forbes stated that impacted applications included Babbel, Bumble, HBO, Masterclass, Plenty of Fish, and Tinder.
What do you think of this situation? Is it in Apple’s rights to advertise third-party applications on other platforms? Let us know down in the comments!
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