The app review prompts may seem to be a smaller issue but these are annoying things faced by smartphone and tablet users after every few days.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has new App Store policy updates that move any voluntary in-app tipping to the category of formal in-app purchase and Apple can take its 30% cut.
In a policy update for the App Store that coincides with the iOS 11 developer release, Apple added the following line: "Apps may use in-app purchase currencies to enable customers to "tip" digital content providers in the app".
Since before we started playing Candy Crush, app review prompts have been a Wild West of sorts with no set rules for developers to follow.
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But last month, Apple cracked down on unofficial tipping, which sidestepped its 30% tax on in-app purchases by highlighting how the tips were donations rather than purchases. Custom prompts would push users to the App Store, which was frustrating and pointless, but now users can decide whether or not to leave a rating, press a button and get right back into the action.
Chinese livestreaming video apps like Yinke and Yizhibo have long embraced tipping, allowing viewers to tip or give virtual gifts to the stars they watch in exchange for extra attention from the performer or just as a show of gratitude. Plus, once the user leaves a rating, the prompt will never appear again. Due to this many users use to ignore the app review prompts.
In-app tips have generated controversy for Apple, particularly in dealing with app developers from China. Now the entire control of app review prompts is in the user's hand.
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