Insight Timer CEO Upset With Apple's Abrupt Enforcement of App Store Rules [Updated]

Apple has frustrated another app developer with arbitrary enforcement of its App Store rules, with Insight Timer CEO Christopher Plowman this week taking to LinkedIn and speaking with TechCrunch to complain about a frustrating experience with the ‌App Store‌ review team.

iOS App Store General Feature JoeBlue
Insight Timer is a meditation app that is subscription based. Customers pay $60 per year to access guided meditations, yoga classes, and other teacher-led courses. In addition to the subscription fee, Insight Timer accepts tips for teachers, which is what is at the heart of the dispute.

In 2022, Insight Timer started allowing app users to provide their teachers with digital donations or tips, and these donations were not initially subject to Apple's 30 percent fee on digital goods per Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules. Apple approved 47 Insight Timer updates that had the tipping functionality, but late last year, Apple's review team decided that these payments weren't considered tips, but digital goods purchases, which subjected them to the ‌App Store‌ in-app purchase fee.

App Store rule 3.2.1 vii says that apps can allow users to give a gift to another individual without using in-app purchase, so long as the gift is an optional choice and 100 percent of the funds go to the receiver of the gift. This was the case with Insight Timer, as it was not taking a cut of tips, but the individual to individual wording is what became murky, as well as an addendum to that rule that says a gift "connected to or associated at any point in time with receiving digital content" requires in-app purchases.

Apple took issue with Insight Timer accepting tips for live events and meditations, deciding that this money was for digital content. Plowman did not agree with Apple's assessment, and spent months negotiating. Apple did agree to allow tip links on teacher profile pages that are not subject to a 30 percent fee, but donations from live events and meditations are not considered tips. Apple's reasoning is that a one-to-one donation is a monetary gift, but a workshop or class with at least two people is digital content that's subject to a commission.

Plowman suggested that the meditation and yoga experiences are no more digital than renting an Airbnb or taking an Uber, and Apple does not collect fees from these kinds of purchases.

Just as homeowners don't pay 30% of their Airbnb income to Apple - imagine the outrage - teachers shouldn't have to pay Apple 30% of their donation income either. Many Insight Timer teachers are doctors, nurses and educators who return home from their day jobs to work in the evenings on Insight Timer for critical supplemental income. They give up their personal time recording audio replies to classroom questions, responding to user reviews, hosting live events, writing music, creating guided meditations and leading discussion groups. There's nothing 'digital' about these experiences no matter how much the definition is contorted. The more teachers work, the more they earn. The correlation is obvious and the term 'digital content' simply does not apply.

Of the $60 subscription fee that customers pay, Apple collects 15 to 30 percent. The remainder is split between Insight Timer and the teachers that participate on the platform, with each getting a 50 percent cut. Insight Timer earned $20 million in subscription revenue in 2023.

Apple required Insight Timer to comply with the ‌App Store‌ rules to submit further app updates, with a February deadline. Insight Timer complied this week, submitting an update that eliminates the tipping feature except on teacher profiles. Plowman says that while he is frustrated, he believes Apple is willing to listen and that the company can be convinced to change. He asks that people share his story, but in a constructive manner.

Update: Apple says that while it originally approved the tipping feature attached to a user profile, tipping for live events and digital content was not enabled until August 2023. It was at that point that the Insight Timer update was rejected. While working with Insight Timer, Apple approved 17 app updates, and Insight Timer was told in November 2023 that the issue had to be fixed by February 2024.

According to Apple, Insight Timer's latest update with the requested changes has been approved and no further action is required.

Popular Stories

ios 19 messages app

Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:40 pm PDT by
Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June. In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

Wednesday July 16, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. We went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great. Top Tier Ultra Thin iPhone 17 Air - The iPhone 17 Air is 2025's most exciting iPhone rumor, because it's the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Wednesday July 16, 2025 11:31 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone will likely have a starting price between $1,800 and $2,000 in the U.S., analysts at investment banking firm UBS said this week. If so, the foldable iPhone would cost more than a MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,599. With a starting price of at least $1,800, the foldable iPhone would be the most expensive iPhone model ever released, topping the Pro Max at...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Hornsby

Apple Store Near Sydney Permanently Closing Later This Year

Monday July 14, 2025 6:14 pm PDT by
Apple today said its store at the Westfield Hornsby shopping mall, in Hornsby, Australia, will be permanently closing in October. Apple Hornsby In a statement shared with Australian tech news website EFTM (via Reddit), Apple said that it has decided not to renew its lease at Westfield Hornsby. Apple said all affected retail employees will be given the opportunity to work at Apple's nearby...

Top Rated Comments

erikkfi Avatar
18 months ago
It's almost as if one company shouldn't have this much control over digital commerce.
Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deepspacecowboy Avatar
18 months ago
Greedy greedy greedy. I wish Apple put half as much attention towards fixing their OS bugs as they do towards trying to bleed developers and users dry. I’m so disgusted by how greedy they’ve become.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclardy Avatar
18 months ago
Can't wait to read the apologists reasoning for how this is good for everyone.
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
18 months ago
Waiting for Apple PR to justify getting a cut of a tip
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
j26 Avatar
18 months ago
Oh, the irony of the head of a meditation company getting frustrated!
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spazzcat Avatar
18 months ago
The tipping culture is out of control anyway. Now, you have to tip virtual instructors.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)