

Ask HN: Does Apple make any money off free apps like Uber? - bko

If not, what prevents an app from having an pseudo in-app purchases that can skirt Apple&#x27;s cut from app store purchases?
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lentil
If your app provides a way to buy something that _could_ use an in-app
purchase (e.g. not physical goods), but you try to use your own method of
doing so, then Apple will reject your app during review. The review guidelines
specifically disallow doing that.

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jasonkester
Yes. They're commoditizing their complement.

As a hardware manufacture, their platform is more valuable the more apps are
available for it. A phone with three apps will not sell as many units as a
phone with a million apps. It's in Apple's best interest to drive the cost of
apps down and the number of apps up. The more 3rd party companies they can get
building free things that add value to their platform, the better.

It's the reason that $1.99 is "a lot to pay for a game", and why the iPhone
makes Apple so much money.

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a3voices
No, they don't. Last time I checked, the terms state that Apple doesn't take a
cut for any offline service or products.

To answer your second question, your app could be shut down at any time if
Apple finds out you are skirting their system.

