4 ms·

I mean, it sounds fairly obvious that this isn't allowed. It is well known that Google (and Apple) do not allow you to have links in your app to payments outsid

I mean, it sounds fairly obvious that this isn't allowed. It is well known that Google (and Apple) do not allow you to have links in your app to payments outside of the ecosystem.

Pfhreak 5y ago
The author isn't balking at being told no, they are balking at the reasoning. The problem for them isn't the surprise, it's the denial.
- joshgoldman 5y ago
  Yes but people here are too dumb to realize and care more about defending thier masters
Wowfunhappy 5y ago
I would have expected a donation link, which doesn’t provide the user anything in return, to be different. Apple allows apps to sell physical goods (otherwise Walmart would have problems), would the situation be different if the people who donated got T-shirts?
ledauphin 5y ago
isn't there a pretty salient difference between soliciting donations and taking payment? I would have thought those were generally agreed to be qualitatively different things.
ohgodplsno 5y ago
If only it was that simple. Google allows large players to have payment services that do not go through Google, as long as all of the money is directed towards a single person and is not in exchange of physical or digital goods. Of course, that goes out of the window as soon as you're a small developer because then you simply get banned from the play store for doing this, your only recourse being talking to a bot that will never answer you.
dylan604 5y ago
Entitled dev gets told no, throws hissy fit. News at 11.
- blunte 5y ago
  > entitled dev You may disagree with his reasoning, your use of that expression is unreasonable.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    "What nefarious activity does the game engage in?" "Yes. I confess it." "depriving Google of some precious money" No, unreasonable it is not. These are very entitled quotes.
    - agateau 5y ago
      (author here) I am sorry this came up sounding entitled: I don't expect Google policies to change on this subject, and since this is not business threatening to me I just decided to write something I thought would be snarky and hopefully amusing to read.
    - blunte 5y ago
      Those are all sarcasm. I suspect it's the last one that bothers you the most. However, keep in mind that Google has a monopoly on Android app delivery. (Yes, we will ignore the alternatives because they are not reasonably accessible to most users.) Since Google has a monopoly here, any app that pleases some users strengthens the platform, leading to more users which leads to more apps, some of which generate revenue for Google. If there were a reasonable competitor app store for Android, this developer could drop Google and go give his app away for free on the other app store. THAT would deprive Google of more revenue because it would strengthen the competing delivery platform. The only "entitled" party here is Google, because they believe they are entitled to a cut of all money possibly made anywhere from any app that runs on their "open source" platform - simply because they are the gatekeeper.
sixothree 5y ago
What if the payment is for something other than just the game or app? What if the app is part of a broader ecosystem that includes videos and merchandise (for example)?
- cyral 5y ago
  There are numerous exceptions, which is how Amazon, Uber Eats, etc get away with bypassing the App Store payments (because they are providing physical goods). If an app is only unlocking content, even if that content is spread across other platforms, then it needs to use in app purchases. (And you enter a world of hurt as you try to sync a users subscription or purchases across all platforms)
Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
I don't think that's necessarily true for Apple. The OP here is just asking for donations; users don't get anything in return. The App Store Review Guidelines only say "If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app [...] you must use in-app purchase." I haven't tried it (yet), but it looks like you might be ok with a Patreon link from an iOS app. The review process can be capricious, of course.
- judge2020 5y ago
  In general patreon would effectively be providing and services outside the app (even if that service is ‘a warm and fuzzy feeling’). More so if you actually provide some reward via your patreon. > Apps in this section cannot, either within the app or through communications sent to points of contact obtained from account registration within the app (like email or text), encourage users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase. https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/ https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/
  - fay59 5y ago
    There's a good point to make that Patreon's donation tiers mean patrons can be rewarded for their donations. I would hope that the digital equivalent of a tip jar is a different category since it's not a purchase.
    - judge2020 5y ago
      It technically is, but Patreon takes a percentage so it wouldn't be treated as a p2p money transfer app: > (vii) Apps may enable individual users to give a monetary gift to another individual without using in-app purchase, provided that (a) the gift is a completely optional choice by the giver, and (b) 100% of the funds go to the receiver of the gift. However, a gift that is connected to or associated at any point in time with receiving digital content or services must use in-app purchase.
redthrow 5y ago
Why does Signal (at least on Android) have the "Donate to Signal" link in Settings? It's allowed if it's a registered charity?

I mean, it sounds fairly obvious that this isn't allowed. It is well known that Google (and Apple) do not allow you to have links in your app to payments outside of the ecosystem.

Pfhreak 5y ago

The author isn't balking at being told no, they are balking at the reasoning. The problem for them isn't the surprise, it's the denial.

joshgoldman 5y ago
Yes but people here are too dumb to realize and care more about defending thier masters

Wowfunhappy 5y ago

I would have expected a donation link, which doesn’t provide the user anything in return, to be different. Apple allows apps to sell physical goods (otherwise Walmart would have problems), would the situation be different if the people who donated got T-shirts?

ledauphin 5y ago

isn't there a pretty salient difference between soliciting donations and taking payment? I would have thought those were generally agreed to be qualitatively different things.

ohgodplsno 5y ago

If only it was that simple. Google allows large players to have payment services that do not go through Google, as long as all of the money is directed towards a single person and is not in exchange of physical or digital goods. Of course, that goes out of the window as soon as you're a small developer because then you simply get banned from the play store for doing this, your only recourse being talking to a bot that will never answer you.

dylan604 5y ago

Entitled dev gets told no, throws hissy fit. News at 11.

blunte 5y ago
> entitled dev You may disagree with his reasoning, your use of that expression is unreasonable.
- dylan604 5y ago
  "What nefarious activity does the game engage in?" "Yes. I confess it." "depriving Google of some precious money" No, unreasonable it is not. These are very entitled quotes.
  - agateau 5y ago
    (author here) I am sorry this came up sounding entitled: I don't expect Google policies to change on this subject, and since this is not business threatening to me I just decided to write something I thought would be snarky and hopefully amusing to read.
  - blunte 5y ago
    Those are all sarcasm. I suspect it's the last one that bothers you the most. However, keep in mind that Google has a monopoly on Android app delivery. (Yes, we will ignore the alternatives because they are not reasonably accessible to most users.) Since Google has a monopoly here, any app that pleases some users strengthens the platform, leading to more users which leads to more apps, some of which generate revenue for Google. If there were a reasonable competitor app store for Android, this developer could drop Google and go give his app away for free on the other app store. THAT would deprive Google of more revenue because it would strengthen the competing delivery platform. The only "entitled" party here is Google, because they believe they are entitled to a cut of all money possibly made anywhere from any app that runs on their "open source" platform - simply because they are the gatekeeper.

sixothree 5y ago

What if the payment is for something other than just the game or app? What if the app is part of a broader ecosystem that includes videos and merchandise (for example)?

cyral 5y ago
There are numerous exceptions, which is how Amazon, Uber Eats, etc get away with bypassing the App Store payments (because they are providing physical goods). If an app is only unlocking content, even if that content is spread across other platforms, then it needs to use in app purchases. (And you enter a world of hurt as you try to sync a users subscription or purchases across all platforms)

Doctor_Fegg 5y ago

I don't think that's necessarily true for Apple. The OP here is just asking for donations; users don't get anything in return. The App Store Review Guidelines only say "If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app [...] you must use in-app purchase." I haven't tried it (yet), but it looks like you might be ok with a Patreon link from an iOS app. The review process can be capricious, of course.

judge2020 5y ago
In general patreon would effectively be providing and services outside the app (even if that service is ‘a warm and fuzzy feeling’). More so if you actually provide some reward via your patreon. > Apps in this section cannot, either within the app or through communications sent to points of contact obtained from account registration within the app (like email or text), encourage users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase. https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/ https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/
- fay59 5y ago
  There's a good point to make that Patreon's donation tiers mean patrons can be rewarded for their donations. I would hope that the digital equivalent of a tip jar is a different category since it's not a purchase.
  - judge2020 5y ago
    It technically is, but Patreon takes a percentage so it wouldn't be treated as a p2p money transfer app: > (vii) Apps may enable individual users to give a monetary gift to another individual without using in-app purchase, provided that (a) the gift is a completely optional choice by the giver, and (b) 100% of the funds go to the receiver of the gift. However, a gift that is connected to or associated at any point in time with receiving digital content or services must use in-app purchase.

redthrow 5y ago

Why does Signal (at least on Android) have the "Donate to Signal" link in Settings? It's allowed if it's a registered charity?