Facebook has designed a system that circumvents the 30% tax Apple applies to in-app transactions.
The social media network operates a service in which users can subscribe to receive exclusive content from creators in exchange for a recurring fee. Now, Facebook will allow its creators to share web links that direct users to pay for subscriptions via the platform’s own payments system.
Though Apple has banned apps from allowing alternative payment options, with this method, it’s technically not Facebook, but the creator that is sending users to an outside payment system.
“As we build for the metaverse, we’re focused on unlocking opportunities for creators to make money from their work,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. “The 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.”
Minus taxes, Facebook’s system will leave the creator with all of their subscription money. However, the platform will still maintain the ability for users to pay for their creator subscriptions using Apple’s system.
In addition to the new promotional link option, Zuckerberg said that Facebook will also be launching a program that compensates creators for each new subscriber they get as part of the company’s $1 billion USD creator investment initiative.
In other tech news, Twitch has added a new category for animal livestreams.
