Apple increases scrutiny of 'irrationally high' app prices
Apple is rejecting apps that have "irrationally high" in-app purchase prices, just a few weeks after a developer vented his frustrations about scams on the App Store.

Credit: Apple
An email Apple sent to a developer whose app was rejected by the company's App Store review team explains that reviewers won't approve apps that are "rip-offs," citing Section 3 of the App Store Review guidelines.
Specifically, Section 3 says that Apple "won't distribute apps and in-app purchase items that are clear rip-offs." It adds that the company will "reject expensive apps that try to cheat users with irrationally high prices."
This policy has been in place for a while, but it seems like there has been an uptick in enforcement. One developer, for example, wrote in 2020 that their app was rejected for charging $39.99 a month.
There are other posts in the Apple Developer Forums that suggest the company appears to take a closer look at apps with higher prices.
In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple said that this policy is part of its commitment to keeping the App Store a safe place for users. It added that reviewers reject apps that scam or rip off users.
Although it isn't clear if it's related, a report from earlier in February shed some light on App Store scams that make millions of dollars a year. Developer Kosta Eleftheriou highlighted many of these scam apps, which steal features and ideas from other apps, charge exorbitant fees, or fall short of what they advertise. Eleftheriou also began putting pressure on Apple to better enforce its policies.

Credit: Apple
An email Apple sent to a developer whose app was rejected by the company's App Store review team explains that reviewers won't approve apps that are "rip-offs," citing Section 3 of the App Store Review guidelines.
Now confirmed: Apple is rejecting apps with irrationally high prices for in-apps and subscriptions.
You have to explain why are you charging like $7.99 per week. Because of using 3rd-party paid services, or something similar.
//thanks @aso_rad for the screenshot. pic.twitter.com/8sDSny4604-- ilia kukharev (@ilyakuh)
Specifically, Section 3 says that Apple "won't distribute apps and in-app purchase items that are clear rip-offs." It adds that the company will "reject expensive apps that try to cheat users with irrationally high prices."
This policy has been in place for a while, but it seems like there has been an uptick in enforcement. One developer, for example, wrote in 2020 that their app was rejected for charging $39.99 a month.
There are other posts in the Apple Developer Forums that suggest the company appears to take a closer look at apps with higher prices.
In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple said that this policy is part of its commitment to keeping the App Store a safe place for users. It added that reviewers reject apps that scam or rip off users.
Although it isn't clear if it's related, a report from earlier in February shed some light on App Store scams that make millions of dollars a year. Developer Kosta Eleftheriou highlighted many of these scam apps, which steal features and ideas from other apps, charge exorbitant fees, or fall short of what they advertise. Eleftheriou also began putting pressure on Apple to better enforce its policies.
Comments
Only afterwards did I realize that those guys charged you $10/month just to be able to review ekg strips that were stored ON YOUR OWN DEVICE. As far as I could tell, they had zero overhead cost beyond the initial development. If you wanted to show your doctor the strip, you had to pay them $10/month. At least at the time, you got nothing else for that subscription, as far as I could tell. It felt then like a rip off, and still does. I have used it zero times since I got my EKG Apple Watch.
There are multiple reasons an application will possibly be abandoned in the app store, and for developers making an honest living, this “pay for it once and get all possible future updates with new features for free” is tantamount to contractual slavery. Either that, or you can reasonably expect developers to create an application with a fixed set of features from the start, and only spend as much time/energy/money to do bug fixes and the work required to keep them working with the latest versions of the OS. Make no mistake, Apple is always deprecating and eventually removing old APIs and frameworks, even if they’re not busy breaking them. Apple’s platforms are nowhere near the “write once, run unmodified for 20 years” like for Windows.
There are always those, like you, who proclaim a willingness to spend more for a one time fee for full access. That group is a small, small minority with a comparatively small impact vs the IAP crowd. Generally speaking, history has shown people don't mind being nickel-and-dimed ad infinitum. Evidence of that can be seen in the highest revenue generators in app stores.
tl;dr As long as IAP is a top revenue generator, it will be an integral part of the App Store. Apple ain't gonna forego billions a quarter.
Also, Apple shouldn’t be judge of what is “reasonable”. That’s up to the developer.
When my kid was younger and wanted to buy songs on iTunes, I set up an account that she could only use gifts cards with. That limited the spend to only those and essentially was her choice how she spent her own money.
I don't know how the App Store works with kids, but I guess that Apple should allow parents to block IAP from their kids accounts.
Apple should have developed an easy method for developers to update apps, notify the user, and allow charging for the update.
One way to start would be that following the usual "free trial" the subscription doesn't kick in until the user affirms they want a subscription -- and they are given clear choices on their options (such as weekly, monthly, etc...)