Will the App Store reject our app if it incorporates zaps? \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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Will the App Store reject our app if it incorporates zaps?

1322 sats \ 10k boost \ 17 comments \ @rizful_com 6 Apr bitcoin

Is there a reliable strategy for making a mobile application that incorporates zaps and having that app NOT be rejected by the app store censors?

Background: We want to build a mobile application that incorporates zaps. What is stopping us is the fear of this scenario:

We put a ton of work into building the app
We submit it to Apple & Google for approval (iOS/Android)
We get rejected because both stores insist that if there are payments in an app, they should get their "cut"

The frustrating thing is, clearly there are at least SEVERAL apps recently that HAVE been approved by Apple & Google that DO incorporate zaps.... Orange Pill App, Yakihonne, probably a lot more.

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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @joseph_at_nostr_fan 7 Apr

A friend of mine just was denied a wallet app for the iOS App Store.

It did Bitcoin, and a few other major crypto currencies.

It was free, nothing obviously wrong with it.

Android was no problem at all.

Fortunately he used Flutter, and it has been relatively easy to port it to the web, so it is now a PWA.

I hope it goes fine, but the PWA route is the safest one for sure.

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @nout 6 Apr

So the way you need to think about it is that there is a contractor on the other side that works for Apple and they need to mark a series of check boxes for your app. If they don't follow the list of checkboxes, they get fired. So don't try finding logic, don't try finding consistency. You need to play the game of trying to fit in the list of checkboxes, that you don't apriori know. You need to word-smith your submissions to not trigger any automated system that will (unfairly) block you. Try finding the trigger words online, talk to Will from Damus...

33 sats \ 1 reply \ @BlokchainB 6 Apr

Primal hasn’t figured this out yet for iOS.

The apk route is confusing. And PWAs are limited (updates are forced upon you with no way to opt-out)

Good luck! Hopefully you are successful to bringing your app to the masses

91 sats \ 0 replies \ @ek 6 Apr

updates are forced upon you with no way to opt-out

Don't most native apps with online services just stop working if you don't update? Signal would be one example.

52 sats \ 2 replies \ @ek 6 Apr

We get rejected because both stores insist that if there are payments in an app, they should get their "cut"

The frustrating thing is, clearly there are at least SEVERAL apps recently that HAVE been approved by Apple & Google that DO incorporate zaps.... Orange Pill App, Yakihonne, probably a lot more.

Maybe those apps have been approved because they are giving them their cut?

149 sats \ 1 reply \ @rizful_com OP 6 Apr

Yakihonne takes an NWC string. Definitely there is no cut going to Apple.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ek 6 Apr

I see, makes sense

7 sats \ 0 replies \ @sox 6 Apr

Apple won't say much as long as you're not giving people something in exchange for sats, like unlocking content or, like in our case, the possibility to convert from sats to an in-app currency (CC).

To circumvent something like that, you would need to remove references to it in the native app and redirect users to an external website.

Tipping or, zapping, is not a digital good so if it's only that, it should be cool!

Apple Review Guidelines

29 sats \ 2 replies \ @DarthCoin 6 Apr

We submit it to Apple & Google for approval (iOS/Android)

Just stop using that garbage... release a direct apk download and done, fuck the rest. People that still use those apps stores are fucking retarded.

5 sats \ 0 replies \ @ch0k1 6 Apr

This is valid only if you make the app open source maintain it a public repository platform (GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket etc) and provide easy and straightforward build-yourself from source app process for users so that they can implement "don't trust verify" approach

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @posilicious 6 Apr

For iOS, I don't believe this is an option without jailbreak. I believe without jailbreaking, only Apple approved apps can be installed on one's $1000+ computer.

5 sats \ 1 reply \ @Signal312 6 Apr

Maybe contact some of the ones that HAVE been approved, and ask?

https://www.orangepillapp.com/ - they have a bunch of social links at the bottom of the page.

Yakihonne has a twitter account.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @rizful_com OP 6 Apr

Thanks, good call

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @kilianbuhn 6 Apr

there are literal onchain and lightning wallets (even custodial ones) on the AppStore

12 sats \ 0 replies \ @kilianbuhn 6 Apr

if you have issues with it, just write "zaps" with language that sounds like Reddit upvotes. Honestly, that's not even a lie

kinda hard now if you already been targeted, i get that

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @lrm_btc 6 Apr

Who cares about the app store

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @posilicious 6 Apr

Within the last few months, I've seen:

In iOS store, an app with nostr "twitter" functionality that allowed crypto transfer, not a zap but a wallet transfer nonetheless, and another app that allowed just allowed a wallet transfer. The latter had a busy UI and made no mention of crypto transfer. The former just provided a wallet address that allowed the user to fund the wallet. Both had minimal users. A while back I saw an iOS app that was submitted and had the bluetooth libraries that the user couldn't access even via A/B or any means and made no mention of bluetooth in the store description of website. The bluetooth was detected, presumably via static analysis, and app was rejected for noncompliance... Since nostr clients are fundamentally mostly websockets and json, it wouldn't surprise me if the functionality wasn't detected by static analysis.
Approved for Android store: apps that also included nostr NIP-01 functionality, allowed crypto transfer (again not NIP-57) and one of them even had in-app purchase set in the play store submission. Again both had small userbase.

As suggested in other posts, I think you'll have a harder time once you reach a Primal or Samourai wallet user base.