Substack IAP
The Substack app drives more than 30% of all paid subscriptions, making it a major source of discovery and discussion. Until now, however, it hasn’t always been possible to upgrade to a paid subscription directly in the app.
That’s changing. Apple now allows Substack to include external links for paid subscriptions in the iOS app in the U.S., while also requiring that all publications offer in-app purchase (IAP) as an option.
Subscriptions purchased via Apple’s IAP have different fees, payout timing, and billing controls compared with web-based subscriptions. This FAQ explains those differences and the tools Substack has built to help you protect your revenue, maintain your subscriber relationships, and stay in control.
[…]
To protect your earnings, Substack will automatically set your price in the iOS app higher for subscriptions purchased through Apple’s in-app purchase (IAP) system. This increase offsets Apple’s fee, so you receive approximately the same payout you would for a web-based subscription.
You can opt out of the price adjustment, but you can’t opt out of IAP. So payments that go through Apple will be delayed, and there’s a bifurcated refund system.
Previously:
- Critical Warning for External Purchases in App Store
- External Purchase Conversion Metrics
- External Payments From the Patreon App
- External Purchasing From the Kindle App
- App Review Guidelines Updated for Epic Anti-Steering
- Creator Platforms and the App Store
- Apple Going After Patreon
