Yesterday we reported that Wordpress founder Matt Mullenweg came forward on Twitter revealing that the platform’s iOS app had been barred from receiving further updates. He explained that to resolve this issue, Wordpress is required to implement forms of monetisation to its free app by selling premium plans and custom domain names – as per Apple’s instructions.
Fortunately for the platform and its users, this is no longer the case. Sometime soon after Mullenweg’s announcement was made public, Apple reversed its decision to have Wordpress’ iOS app to include in-app purchases and issued an apology to both the platform and its users.
This was confirmed in a recent tweet posted by the Wordpress’ founder, saying that the issue had been resolved after the Cupertino-based tech company had re-reviewed the app on its App Store. “Since the developer removed the display of their service payment options from the app, it is now a free stand-alone app and does not have to offer in-app purchases,” said Apple in a statement provided to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. “We have informed the developer and apologise for any confusion that we have caused.”
I am very grateful that folks at Apple re-reviewed @WordPressiOS and have let us know we do not need to implement in-app purchases to be able to continue to update the app. Bad news travels faster than good, usually, so please consider sharing that they reversed course.
— Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) August 23, 2020
The most intriguing part of the company’s statement is the mention of the removal of “service payment options from the app” by the developer. According to the findings of The Verge’s Sean Hollister, an older version of the Wordpress app did include a dedicated Plans tab that listed some of the different packages available for premium users, but with no ability to purchase them via the application. This tab had already been removed by the time Matt Mullenweg made his initial announcement regarding this issue with Apple, he added.
Apple Reverses Move to Force WordPress to Add In-App Payments https://t.co/LeshXB8XT1 https://t.co/mhiljGJi36
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) August 22, 2020
Regardless, a resolved problem is better than nothing for the tech giant. Apple is still facing some heat with companies such as Epic Games and Facebook, who have openly expressed their dissatisfaction with its App Store policy of earning a 30-percent cut from in-app subscriptions and purchases.
