Telegram pulls paywalled posts from iOS app as a result of App Store guidelines

Telegram eliminated the flexibility for customers on iOS to create pay-to-view posts as a result of Apple’s strict App Store pointers (via 9to5Mac). In a post on Telegram, CEO Pavel Durov says creators on the platform have been utilizing third-party fee or donation bots to promote entry to sure posts on their channels, however that Apple was “not happy with content creators monetizing their efforts without paying a 30% tax to Apple.”

Apple doesn’t enable builders to make use of third-party fee processors of their apps and fees as much as a 30 p.c fee on any in-app purchases. As famous by 9to5Mac, Telegram initially appeared to have been testing a paid posts function, as spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra. However, Telegram mentioned in a press release to 9to5Mac that the platform isn’t testing this function and customers have as an alternative been making the most of third-party fee bots so as to add a paywall to posts.

“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,” Durov says. “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 [value-added tax].”