No paid posts in Telegram on iPhones! You can thank Apple for that

Apple wants full control over all app payments on its iOS ecosystem and this policy has claimed an easy way for Telegram content creators. Telegram, which is the alter-Whatsapp messaging app having its own ecosystem of subscriptions and services, has been forced to withdraw the option of letting creators make payments via third-party payment systems. Seems like a re-run of the controversial Epic Games saga that has been going on for a few years now! However, no such restriction exists for Android users yet!

Telegram was letting content creators use an independent payment system that was different from Apple’s system. The system allowed the creator to set their own prices and let the fans support them directly. The CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov, said that creators were getting close to 100 percent of whatever the subscriber paid. However, with Apple jumping in and applying its App Store guidelines, the Cupertino-based iPhone maker will now take 30 percent commision, as it does with all other app developers.

Telegram faces Apple tax!

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was annoyed with this move and he says the team had to remove the system in order to avoid a ban on iOS. “Unfortunately, we received word from Apple that they were not happy with content creators monetizing their efforts without paying a 30% tax to Apple. Since Apple has complete control over its ecosystem, we had no alternative but to disable such paid posts on iOS devices. This is just another example of how a trillion-dollar monopoly abuses its market dominance at the expense of millions of users who are trying to monetize their own content. I hope that the regulators in the EU, India and elsewhere start taking action before Apple destroys more dreams and crushes more entrepreneurs with a tax that is higher than any government-levied VAT,” he said.

However, Durov says Telegram wants to work around Apple’s restrictive ecosystem. “In the meantime, we at Telegram shall work to offer creators powerful and easy-to-use tools to monetize their content – outside of Apple's restrictive ecosystem.”

Apple has always been in the news for adding its 30 percent commission to all in-app payments in iPhones. It is this rule that led Epic Games’ popular Fortnite to get banned from the App Store, and involved several lawsuits on Apple for the same reason.