Published 15:28 IST, August 22nd 2020
WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg claims Apple forced them to add in-app purchases
WordPress founder recently took to his Twitter account to share a post accusing Apple of not letting them launch updates for their application. Read more
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Matt Mullenweg, lead developer of the open-source web software WordPress has now accused Apple of not letting them launch updates for their application. He shared a message on his Twitter regarding the same. This has been done regarding the unfair tax rules that have been applied by the giant multinational technology company. Read more to know about what is going on between WordPress and Apple.
WordPress founder, Matt Mullenweg on Apple
WordPress founder, Matt Mullenweg recently shared a tweet about why the WordPress app had no updates in recent times. He blamed that Apple had blocked their ability to launch updates until they add in-app purchases and be able to extract its 30 per cent cut of the money.
Mullenweg wrote, “Heads up on why @WordPressiOS updates have been absent... we were locked by App Store. To be able to ship updates and bug fixes again we had to commit to supporting in-app purchases for .com plans. I know why this is problematic, open to suggestions. Allow others IAP? New name?”.
Heads up on why @WordPressiOS updates have been absent... we were locked by App Store. To be able to ship updates and bug fixes again we had to commit to support in-app purchases for .com plans. I know why this is problematic, open to suggestions. Allow others IAP? New name?
— Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) August 21, 2020
A number of users have responded to this through their Twitter accounts. To be clear, the app doesn’t sell anything. The author of Stratechery, Ben Thompson also shared a tweet about this issue. He backed the WordPress founder and wrote, “It’s an open-source project. Apple is requiring the addition of functionality that has no plausible reason to exist.”
But in response, Apple released a statement to The Verge saying that in-app purchases are essential whenever apps “allow users to access content, subscriptions, or features they have acquired in your app on other platforms or your web site.”
To be clear, the app doesn’t sell anything, and why would it? It’s an open source project. Apple is requiring the addition of functionality that has no plausible reason to exist.
— Ben Thompson (@benthompson) August 21, 2020
Mullenweg also spoke to The Verge and said that he’s not going to fight it anymore. WordPress will now have brand-new in-app purchases for WordPress.com’s paid tiers by the next month. He also said that after agreeing to add the in-app purchases, Apple has allowed Automattic to update the app. After Apple’s feud with Epic Games, it is not surprising that they are trying to implement rules that will make them more money.
Similarly, Apple removed Fortnite from the Apple App-store servers. This is because of the differences created regarding their cut of the revenue. The clash between the developers and game makers occurred recently and the tech giants dedicated to scrapping the app from their stores.
15:28 IST, August 22nd 2020