87% app makers don’t pay for Apple store, 97% for Google Play: Report

Contrary to popular perception, only 0.08 per cent or just 17 of the 21,000 Indian apps or app developers who are live on the Apple Store pay 30

per cent commission to the company. The majority — 87 per cent — of the developers on the Store do not pay any commission, according to Apple executives who deposed before a

parliamentary standing committee on finance looking into ‘anti-competitive practices by Big Tech companies’. This information was contained in the committee’s

report published in late December. Google told the committee that only 3 per cent of Indian developers on its Play Store paid a service fee. The remaining 97 per cent

could distribute their app on the Play Store and utilise all the developer tools and services at no cost. Google has been in the crosshairs of the Competition Commission of India

(CCI), which fined it recently for allegedly abusing its dominant position with its Play Store policy. Google told the committee members that the ones who pay are those

who charge users for their apps or offer digital content for purchases within their app and the user makes the purchase. The depositions come against the background of growing

global concern over Apple’s and Google’s app stores. Moves are underway in some countries to introduce legislation to break their stranglehold and spur competition so that

software developers can access the iPhone or an Android phone without going through the respective app stores. In the US and Europe, legislation is being

finalised to allow ‘sideloading’ of apps. This allows app developers to load their applications without using the app stores of either Apple or Google. Even in India, the CCI

has ordered Google to permit sideloading. The global grouse is that the two tech giants who charge up to 30 per cent as commission from software developers and force

them to use only their own payment gateways, are making huge services revenues. Apple’s deposition argues that the perception that all apps pay commission is

incorrect. The principle of charging commission is well defined - the commission is applicable only on apps selling digital goods and services and not physical goods and

services. Experts say that in simple term, this means that most popular apps such as Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Uber, and Policybazaar do not qualify to pay

the standard 30 per cent commission. MONEY MATTERS The criticism Apple and Google charge up to 30% commission from software