Apple has considerably strict guidelines on its App Store. Last month, he removed a popular app for being christened a drug, a move he had to reverse after the public reaction. Now, the company is cracking down on applications with “irrationally high prices.”
In recent months, there have been numerous posts on Apple developer forums claiming that their apps have been removed to set high prices. One of those developers had subscription offers valued at $ 39.99 a month up to $ 99.99 / year with a 60% retention rate, but Apple still reprimanded him.
A new 9to5Mac report cites a similar case in which a developer’s submission was rejected for the same reason. Apple sent the following email to the developer:
Customers expect the App Store to be a safe and reliable marketplace for the purchase of digital products. Applications should never betray this trust by trying to deceive or mislead users in any way.
Unfortunately, the prices you have selected for your app or products purchased from the app to your app do not reflect the value of the features and content offered to the user. Charging for irrationally high prices for content or services with limited value is a mistake for customers and is not suitable for the App Store.
[…] To resolve this issue, we recommend that you follow these steps:
- Review the app or purchase products from the app to provide more value to the user at the time of purchase
- Choose a price for your app or purchase products from the app that accurately reflects the value provided to the user
- Once you’ve made the appropriate changes, resubmit the app for review
Submitting this application may require a longer review time and may not be eligible for expedited review until this issue is resolved.
While the developer was able to release its app by telling Apple that they used expensive APIs that generate most of the cost, the move certainly highlights a growing trend for the company to remove apps it believes are “out of the question.” of its customers.
In fact, the App Store review guidelines state that:
There are many ways to earn revenue with your app in the App Store. If your business model is not obvious, be sure to explain it in your metadata and app review notes. If we are unable to understand the operation of your application or if your purchases from the application are not immediately apparent, it will delay your review and may result in rejection. And while it depends on your pricing, we won’t distribute apps or purchase items from the app that are clear. We will reject expensive applications that try to deceive users with irrationally high prices.
It can be said that the above wording is not clear, as it does not define any threshold with regard to Apple which it considers “irrationally high prices”. This seems to be a growing pain point for honest developers who charge justified prices for their services. Other previous forum posts have also highlighted cases where Apple takes a long time to respond to justifications provided by developers and to reset apps.