Apple tightens the knot around apps with ‘irrationally high prices’

Apple has considerably strict guidelines around its App Store. Last month it removed a popular app for being named after a drug, a move it had to reverse following public backlash. Now the company is cracking down on apps with “irrationally high prices.”

Over the past few months, there have been plenty of posts on the Apple Developer Forums with developers claiming their apps have been taken down for setting high prices. One of these developers had subscription offers valued at $ 39.99 / month up to $ 99.99 / year with a reported retention rate of 60%, but was still reprimanded by Apple.

A new report from 9to5Mac cites a similar case in which a developer’s submission was rejected for the same reason. Apple sent the following email to the developer:

Customers expect the App Store to be a safe and reliable marketplace for purchasing digital products. Applications should never betray this trust by attempting to scam or deceive users in any way.

Unfortunately, the prices you have selected for your app or the in-app purchase products in your app do not reflect the value of the features and content offered to the user. Charging irrationally high prices for limited value content or services is a scam for customers and not appropriate for the App Store.

[…] To resolve this issue, we recommend that you take the following steps:

• Revise your app or in-app purchase products to provide more value to the user at the time of purchase
• Choose a price for your app or in-app purchase products that accurately reflects the value provided to the user
• Once you have made the appropriate changes, return your app for review.

The next submission of this app may require a longer review time and it will not be eligible for expedited review until this issue is resolved.

While the developer was able to get their app published by explaining to Apple that it uses expensive APIs that drive the bulk of the costs, the move certainly highlights a growing trend for the company to remove apps it deems ” rip off ”his customers.

This is because the App Store review guidelines state that:

There are many ways to monetize your app on the App Store. If your business model isn’t obvious, be sure to explain it in its metadata and app release notes. If we can’t understand how your app works, or your in-app purchases aren’t immediately obvious, it will delay your review and may result in rejection. And while the price is up to you, we will not distribute apps and in-app purchase items that are straightforward scams. We will reject expensive apps that try to fool users with irrationally high prices.

The above wording is arguably unclear as it does not set any threshold as to what Apple considers “irrationally high prices”. This seems to be a growing problem for honest developers who rightly charge high prices for their services. Other older forum posts have also highlighted instances where Apple is taking a long time to respond to justifications provided by developers and reinstate apps.