Meta, the parent company of social media network Facebook, announced new plans for developers to bypass 30 percent App Store fees that Apple charges on transactions.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook post said: “30 percent fees that Apple takes on transactions make it harder to do that, so we’re updating our Subscriptions product so now creators can earn more.”
Zuckerberg said that the company is launching a promotional link for creators for their Subscriptions offering.
“When people subscribe using this link, creators will keep all the money they earn. Developers will have more ownership of their audience — we’re giving the ability for them to download the email addresses of all of their new subscribers,” he explained.
The Financial Times reported that Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube lost around $9.85 billion in revenue after Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy last year.
Advertisement technology company Lotame estimated that the four tech platforms lost 12 percent of revenue in the third and fourth quarters, which roughly translates into $9.85 billion.
Meta is also launching a bonus program that pays creators for each new subscriber they get as part of our $1 billion creator investment announced this summer, Zuckerberg said.
The new iOS App Store policy requires apps to ask permission to track users’ data. The policy went into effect in April, barring apps from tracking users if they opt out.
Facebook lost the most money in absolute terms when compared to other social platforms due to its huge size.
“Facebook has the most to lose because the cost of running advertisements on its platform has been increasing for years,” the Financial Times report said.
Since the introduction of the Apple iOS policy, most users have opted out, leaving advertisers in the dark about how to target them.
Zuckerberg has slammed Apple for its App Store policies in the past, saying the iOS privacy changes are negatively affecting its business.
“Apple’s changes are not only negatively affecting our business, but millions of small businesses, and what is already a difficult time for them and the economy,” he said last month.
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, said that the biggest impact to them has come from iOS 14 changes which advantaged Apple’s own advertising business.
