Simon also testified that his company conducted a monthlong study that found that more than 90% of users opted to subscribe to the app on the company’s website when customers were told that their subscriptions would be cheaper than subscribing via the app.
The study showed that when consumers were not aware of the pricing difference, roughly half of customers subscribed on the company’s app and the other half subscribed on the website, according to Simon. He said the study also showed that overall, fewer customers subscribed when they didn’t have the cheaper out-of-app subscription option. Overall, Apple’s new fees and restrictions have made it worse for developers and upset consumers who feel misled, he said.
Simon also disputed Apple executives’ testimony that Apple’s new 27% fees and rules restricting the format of out-of-app dynamic links were imposed for security purposes. Simon testified that dynamic links are commonplace on the internet and within apps.
“All of the internet would have to be a security risk for dynamic URLs to be a security risk,” Simon said.
