Apple makes new enemies as it pushes Tencent and Bytedance to cough up their 30%

• Both apps feature minigames which are able to ask for cash beyond Apple’s channels
• It’s a risky move that could potentially push these huge companies and their users away

Stay Informed

It shouldn’t come as a surprise but Apple are – despite friction and push back from around the industry – still very keen on hanging onto their 30% app profits cut. Even if that means taking on, and potentially upsetting giants such as Tencent and Bytedance.

Yes, despite all the talk of relaxing rules and getting real (and the EU putting laws in place to ensure that exactly that happens) Apple are instead clamping down on potential app infringement from the two Chinese giants that may have meant that they’ve been missing out on some of their 30% cash cow.

Sneaking through the back door

The issue revolves around both companies allowing in-game creators to direct users to external payment systems other than Apple’s, and thus bypassing Apple’s familiar ‘app tax’ commission fee. The core of the problem comes via Tencent’s WeChat and ByteDance’s TikTok, both of which allow users to offer goods and services and flag up the best way to make payments. 

Both apps feature minigames who’s takings technically fall under the remit of Apple’s fees, but, couched in the world of the chat app, are able to ask for cash and make transactions beyond Apple’s safe, secure and Apple-policed channels.

Even if that means limiting the ways to pay, increasing user friction and – more than likely – forcing these services to up their prices in order to factor in Apple’s cut.

It’s a scenario that both parties have been slow to police with potential loss of revenue for themselves and their commercial users being enough of a reason to let the strict wording of their deals with Apple slide. For Apple, however, it seems that enough is enough.

Picking your battles

It’s a risky move that could potentially push these huge companies and their multi-millions of users further away, but walking away from a regular payday isn’t something that Apple would ever consider, it seems. Even if that means limiting the ways to pay, increasing user friction and – more than likely – forcing these services to up their prices in order to factor in Apple’s cut.

It remains to be seen as to whether both companies will close such ‘loopholes’ or if another longer, more protracted battle is about to start.