You don’t need metaphors or comparisons.
The Spotify app should have a button that takes you to their website, where you can sign up for a premium subscription.
It doesn’t have one because Apple would kick Spotify out of the App Store.
Also - all other links to the Spotify website (support, terms of service, privacy policy, etc) take you to pages where the main navigation of the website has been removed so that you can’t find the signup page. Because again, Apple bans that. For the longest time apps have not allowed to have any way for users to find a signup form on a website.
Apple claims to be compliant now, because they have a new API - only available in Europe - that informs the user that they might be a victim of identity theft, fraud, etc if they continue, then would take you to Spotify’s signup page. Also if Spotify wants users to see that horror show… they’d have to pay tens of millions of dollars per year. Vs not taking advantage of the new API where Spotify doesn’t pay anything to Apple.
airglow@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Let’s say you want to buy a printer from a retailer. The retailer also sells replacement ink cartridges, and so does the printer manufacturer. The manufacturer prefers that you buy the ink cartridges directly from them, because their margins are higher when they don’t have to pay the retailer a cut.
To encourage customers to buy the cartridges directly from them, the manufacturer provides a link or QR code to their online ink cartridge store on the product box, printer manual, and another paper insert inside the box. The manufacturer might offer more competitive pricing than the retailer or some other enticement, like a coupon.
However, the retailer implements an anti-steering rule, preventing the printer manufacturer from providing a link or QR code to their online ink cartridge store on the product packaging, printer manual, or anything inside the box. This is the equivalent of what Apple is doing to apps in their App Store: preventing developers from disclosing that users can purchase subscriptions or other app-related digital goods on the developer’s website.
sanpo@sopuli.xyz 6 months ago
You know, this explanation isn’t wrong, but having a printer manufacturer in your analogy show up as a victim just feels wrong.
airglow@lemmy.world 6 months ago
That’s just the first thing that came to mind. Any product with consumable refills (razor, electric toothbrush, water filter, etc.) would also work as an example.