It sucks, they don't require it of Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, Disney, etc
What Librem are doing is the right thing though - go to the press, raise a big stink and Apple will back off. It's been proven to work time and time again.
What Librem are doing is the right thing though - go to the press, raise a big stink and Apple will back off. It's been proven to work time and time again.
I believe they do require this of large companies; it's been a while, but IIRC Netflix and Disney+ both allow you to sign up for the service in the app. The HBO app does, too.
You can log in with an existing account, but I thought the requirement was that you need to give a user the ability to sign up for a paid service account in app, and that signup needs to bill through Apple.
It's a moneymaker, no doubt; as a consumer, though, I appreciate not having to hand over credit card details to a random service I'm trying out for a month.
Disney+ does let you subscribe through Apple.
Apple did not lift this requirement for the Hey email app during the controversy over that last year. Instead, they reached a compromise where Hey would offer a free trial of their service inside the app, so they could be in compliance with the rule that an app must have some functionality without an account.
> 3.1.3(b) Multiplatform Services: Apps that operate across multiple platforms may allow users to access content, subscriptions, or features they have acquired in your app on _other platforms or your web site_, including consumable items in multi-platform games, _provided those items are also available as in-app purchases within the app_.
And by that rule there are _many_ apps from big companies that violate App Store guidelines, yet they get a pass because Apple doesn't have has much leverage over those companies as they do with small independent developers.
Well, for devices, its basically customer support via threat of class action lawsuit. I'm still a little miffed I had to pay $79 three times to "fix" the iPhone 6 and didn't get a refund after they finally acknowledged the issue.