{"id":230733,"date":"2025-05-08T12:43:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T12:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/apple-2\/michael-tsai-blog-free-with-in-app-purchase-is-a-sham\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T12:43:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T12:43:41","slug":"michael-tsai-blog-free-with-in-app-purchase-is-a-sham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=230733","title":{"rendered":"Michael Tsai – Blog – Free With In-App Purchase Is a Sham"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Jeff Johnson<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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The problem is that what Apple means here by \u201cfree\u201d as opposed to \u201cpaid\u201d is simply that you don\u2019t have to pay before downloading the app, but Apple\u2019s counterintuitive definition tends to obscure what is most important to consumers: how much you have to pay to use the app. The range of allowed use can vary drastically among apps that are free with IAP. Some apps can be used forever for free with no apparent limitations, and the IAP merely unlocks bonus content or features. Some can be used for free in \u201creader\u201d mode, with the ability to open and read documents, while an IAP is required to edit and\/or sync documents. Some apps are free to use fully for only a limited time; in other words, they have a time-limited free trial. At the end of the trial, various outcomes are possible. Time-limited trials are especially popular with auto-renewing subscription apps, which start charging you automatically at the end of the trial. And ironically, some so-called \u201cfree\u201d apps don\u2019t allow any use at all unless you first pay the IAP.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At this point, I think the way the store represents this information is obscuring more than it\u2019s helping.<\/p>\n

\n

You might be shocked to learn that the window is actually floating<\/em>. That is, it floats above and covers every other window on the Mac, even if you switch to a different app. And Apple approved this. You can close the floating window, but that quits the app.<\/p>\n

By default, the lifetime $39.99 license is selected. It\u2019s labeled \u201cBest choice – no subscription\u201d. The 3 day free trial is available only if you select the $19.99 yearly subscription option. The subtitle of the subscription option says, \u201cOnly $5.00\/month\u201d, the math of which is way<\/em> off and would add up to $60 per year if accurate. I don\u2019t know how that window got approved by Apple.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Apple is so picky<\/a> about payment screens in some cases, but then it approves stuff like this.<\/p>\n

\n

Apple is supposed to protect users by making refunds and subscription cancelations easy, but Apple doesn\u2019t actually make it as clear and easy as claimed. Why aren\u2019t there refund and cancel buttons directly on the app\u2019s product page? Such buttons could be right above the Ratings & Reviews section! For that matter, why don\u2019t app developers have to ability to offer refunds directly to customers?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I recently had two cases where customers encountered problems related to Apple\u2019s Bluetooth API and asked Apple for refunds. Even though the purchases were recent, Apple refused and told them to contact the developer instead\u2014even though we can\u2019t offer refunds. Luckily, I was able to work around the bug.<\/p>\n

Previously:<\/p>\n

App Store<\/a> Business<\/a> In-App Purchase<\/a> iOS<\/a> iOS 18<\/a> iOS App<\/a> Mac<\/a> Mac App<\/a> Mac App Store<\/a> macOS 15 Sequoia<\/a><\/p>\n

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Jeff Johnson: The problem is that what Apple means here by \u201cfree\u201d as opposed to \u201cpaid\u201d is simply that you don\u2019t have to pay before downloading the app, but Apple\u2019s counterintuitive definition tends to obscure what is most important to consumers: how much you have to pay to use the app. The range of allowed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11768],"tags":[3767,807,38978,1823,3959,79674,17088],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-230733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple-2","tag-blog","tag-free","tag-inapp","tag-michael","tag-purchase","tag-sham","tag-tsai"],"yoast_head":"\nMichael Tsai - Blog - Free With In-App Purchase Is a Sham - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=230733\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michael Tsai - Blog - Free With In-App Purchase Is a Sham - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jeff Johnson: The problem is that what Apple means here by \u201cfree\u201d as opposed to \u201cpaid\u201d is simply that you don\u2019t have to pay before downloading the app, but Apple\u2019s counterintuitive definition tends to obscure what is most important to consumers: how much you have to pay to use the app. The range of allowed […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=230733\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-08T12:43:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=230733#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=230733\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Michael Tsai – Blog – Free With In-App Purchase Is a Sham\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-08T12:43:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=230733\"},\"wordCount\":490,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Blog\",\"Free\",\"InApp\",\"Michael\",\"Purchase\",\"Sham\",\"Tsai\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Apple\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=230733#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=230733\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=230733\",\"name\":\"Michael Tsai - 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