The profitable App Store model, as implemented by Apple, is a danger to our society as it crushes our privacy rights, consumer rights and right to repair:
1. It essentially takes away the rights of ownership from us as Apple gets to dictates what app we can own. A user can only install an app if it is available in the App Store. And they cannot roll back to a specific app version they want, nor have any guarantee of the app availability in the future if Apple deems it so.
2. It's a huge violation of our privacy rights as Apple gets valuable personal information on you based on the apps you choose to install. (E.g. Installed Grindr? Datapoint indicating you are Gay. Installed a religious app? A datapoint to your religious beliefs. Installed a political app? A datapoint to your political leanings.). These data allows Apple to better exploit you to make more money.
3. Forcing developers to pay a huge commission (30% - 60%) for what is essentially the use of a Payment gateway is a gross abuse as most online payment processors don't charge more than 5% for most transaction.
4. Worse still is that this exorbitant commission is passed on to the user without their knowledge - Apple knowingly and deliberately exploits all its users, who remain ignorant about how much money Apple undeservedly pockets from every transaction on the App Store.
5. To ensure this business model is not upended, Apple does not allow the installation of any other OS or software on its devices. This violates our right to repair to fix any issues and / or to extend the life of our device.
Consumers thus need to demand the following minimum guarantees from their government:
1. Allow installation of apps from outside the App Store.
2. Consumers should clearly know who their money is going, and any commission or charges by Apple / BigTech should be listed and highlighted to the user on each transaction.
1. It essentially takes away the rights of ownership from us as Apple gets to dictates what app we can own. A user can only install an app if it is available in the App Store. And they cannot roll back to a specific app version they want, nor have any guarantee of the app availability in the future if Apple deems it so.
2. It's a huge violation of our privacy rights as Apple gets valuable personal information on you based on the apps you choose to install. (E.g. Installed Grindr? Datapoint indicating you are Gay. Installed a religious app? A datapoint to your religious beliefs. Installed a political app? A datapoint to your political leanings.). These data allows Apple to better exploit you to make more money.
3. Forcing developers to pay a huge commission (30% - 60%) for what is essentially the use of a Payment gateway is a gross abuse as most online payment processors don't charge more than 5% for most transaction.
4. Worse still is that this exorbitant commission is passed on to the user without their knowledge - Apple knowingly and deliberately exploits all its users, who remain ignorant about how much money Apple undeservedly pockets from every transaction on the App Store.
5. To ensure this business model is not upended, Apple does not allow the installation of any other OS or software on its devices. This violates our right to repair to fix any issues and / or to extend the life of our device.
Consumers thus need to demand the following minimum guarantees from their government:
1. Allow installation of apps from outside the App Store.
2. Consumers should clearly know who their money is going, and any commission or charges by Apple / BigTech should be listed and highlighted to the user on each transaction.