Apple Halves Commissions on Mini Apps

San Francisco - Apple announced on Thursday that it would lower commission rates for "mini apps" on iPhones and other devices.

App Store takes commissions of up to 30% on digital sales. However, under the program announced on Thursday, this rate will decrease to 15% for mini app developers. To qualify for this reduction, developers must adopt some of Apple's technologies, such as user age classification.

Mini apps are commonly prevalent in China. Popular apps like Tencent Holdings and Alipay in the country offer various game titles or other services within their main applications. However, this model is also being adopted by U.S. companies. For example, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, announced last month that it would offer mini apps within its flagship chat application.

According to Apple's App Store rules, mini app developers pay commissions from digital sales directly to Apple. However, the fees charged by the main app is a matter between the main app and the mini app.

The commission reduction being tied to Apple's age verification technology comes at a time when the iPhone maker is experiencing tensions with tech competitors like Meta Platforms and states over user age verification.

Many U.S. states are seeking laws that require the age of app users to be verified. Meta argues that age verification should be implemented in app marketplaces operated by Google and Apple.

Apple, however, claims that these laws would constitute an invasion of adult users' privacy and offers an alternative that allows app developers to accept their stated age range, which needs to be approved by an adult for younger users.