Apple Inc on Friday said it would comply with a Dutch ruling to allow third-party payment options for dating apps, the first time the company is allowing outside payments within App Store apps.
Apple is releasing a pair of what it calls entitlements that would allow developers to implement their own third-party payment services to pay for dating apps in the Netherlands, the company said.
The change would also let developers direct users to Web sites to complete transactions, it said.
However, Apple said it would continue to collect its revenue share, which has been highly scrutinized by governments and developers in multiple countries.
Details on how the company would do that — or what cut it would take — have not yet been released.
The company said that most developers that sell dating apps are based outside of the Netherlands so any revenue generated from this change would not benefit the local economy.
Apple added that developers who choose to use outside payments would have to submit a separate version of their app specific to the Netherlands.
“Dating app developers using these entitlements will need to submit a separate app binary for iOS or iPadOS that may only be distributed in the Netherlands App Store,” it said.
The iPhone maker also highlighted that dating app developers can continue to use Apple’s system.
“Because Apple will not be directly aware of purchases made using alternative methods, Apple will not be able to assist users with refunds, purchase history, subscription management and other issues encountered when purchasing digital goods and services through these alternative purchasing methods,” the company said in a message to developers on its Web site.
The company also said that it disagrees with the decision and is appealing it.
“Because we do not believe these orders are in our users’ best interests, we have appealed the ACM’s [Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets] decision to a higher court,” Apple said. “We’re concerned these changes could compromise the user experience, and create new threats to user privacy and data security.”
Apple previously said it would let developers of so-called reader apps — which include music, e-book and cloud storage apps — direct users to the Web to complete transactions.
That statement came after a settlement with the Japanese Fair Trade Commission.
The company was ordered by the Dutch antitrust authority to allow dating apps to use other payment systems or face a fine of as much as US$57 million, with a deadline on Saturday to make the change.
Apple imposes “unreasonable conditions” by not allowing a free choice for app payments besides Apple’s in-app purchases, the ACM said.
Separately, Apple would require retail and corporate employees to provide proof of a COVID-19 booster shot, the Verge news site reported on Saturday, citing an internal e-mail.
Starting on Monday next week, unvaccinated employees or those who have not submitted proof of vaccination would need negative COVID-19 tests to enter Apple workplaces, the report said.
The Verge said it was not immediately clear if the testing requirement applies to corporate and retail employees.
“Due to waning efficacy of the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines and the emergence of highly transmissible [SARS-CoV-2] variants such as Omicron, a booster shot is now part of staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccination to protect against severe disease,” the Verge cited the memo as saying.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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