Apple Allegedly Buys Ads for Subscription-Based Apps to Collect More Commission [Updated]

Update: Apple has now said that the suggestion that it "secretly" or "quietly" buys ads for third-party apps is a mischaracterization. The company says that it regularly communicates with developers about the ads it runs on their behalf. See Apple's full clarification for more information.



Apple allegedly buys Google ads for popular subscription-based third-party apps to bolster its collection of commission on in-app purchases, according to an article by Forbes.

app store blue banner
Apple has purportedly been buying Google ads for subscription-based third-party apps, including HBO, Masterclass, Babbel, Tinder, Plenty of Fish, and Bumble, for at least two years. A marketer speaking to Forbes suggested that many of the brands Apple appears to be advertising for have been assertive about attempting to circumvent App Store policies. The ads are said to be placed without the developer's consent and Google apparently refuses to remove them.

The ads do not disclose that they are paid for by Apple, but redirect to the ‌App Store‌ rather than subscription sign-up pages on the brand's website. One source, speaking to Forbes, explained:

Apple is trying maximize the money they're making by driving in-app purchases that people buy through the Apple Store. Apple has figured out that they can make more money off these developers if they push people to the App Store to purchase there versus a web flow.

Ads encouraging users to subscribe to a service usually lead to pages that encourage users to sign up online, bypassing Apple's 15 or 30 percent in-app purchase fee and allowing the business to collect all of the subscription's revenue.

Google claims that it is not responsible for who buys ads on its platform. Google's ad policies allow companies to use another company's trademark if "primarily dedicated to selling (or clearly facilitating the sale of) products or services, components, replacement parts, or compatible products or services corresponding to the trademark."

There are apparently indications that Apple is hiring a single agency to place the ads since they each have "similar tracking links with near-identical parameters."

Forbes speculates that Apple's unsolicited ads are potentially losing some third-party apps millions of dollars in revenue and resulting in high customer acquisition and advertising costs for their own campaigns, since prices rise when multiple parties bid on the same ad slots. The practice amounts to "a form of ad arbitrage," according to Forbes.

Top Rated Comments

gigatoaster Avatar
31 months ago
Incoming PR from Apple: but but we have given foods on the plate to 6 billions developers and we are saving the world. ?‍♂️
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wildkraut Avatar
31 months ago
More food for the antitrust authorities.

Well done Apple, good that your shady tactics are slowly showing up.
Not a single week without negative Apple news.
Yeah yeah, but privacy and does nobody care for the children?! ?
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
m.x Avatar
31 months ago
I [S]love[/S] admire Apple very much and I adore my new 14" MBP, but my god are they greedy with the App Store. It's like these are two different companies, on one side there are these amazing devices and on the other side there's abysmal treatment of developers and this penny-pinching - just to name a few things. In his recent The Talk Show episode, John Gruber quoted a friend of his with a quote which is so true: "Apple does one thing great: they make creative tools for people and sell them at a fair price that people will pay for it and everything else they do is - it ruins the good part of Apple. Everything else. It's corrupting.". I really would love to see them stepping back from the greed and their addiction to App Store revenue, but I think the only way they learn is when there is intervention from the outside.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DummyFool Avatar
31 months ago
A big tech company using shady tactics, what a surprise!
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wildkraut Avatar
31 months ago

I love Apple very much and I adore my new 14" MBP, but my god are they greedy with the App Store. It's like these are two different companies, on one side there are these amazing devices and on the other side there's abysmal treatment of developers and this penny-pinching - just to name a few things. In his recent The Talk Show episode, John Gruber quoted a friend of his with a quote which is so true: "Apple does one thing great: they make creative tools for people and sell them at a fair price that people will pay for it and everything else they do is - it ruins the good part of Apple. Everything else. It's corrupting.". I really would love to see them stepping back from the greed and their addiction to App Store revenue, but I think the only way they learn is when there is intervention from the outside.
I love my wife, my children and the rest my family, but would never love a company.
You know it's a one sided love, right? Okay they love your wallet, that's it! :)
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
31 months ago
Isn't this shady or what?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....