Musk may delay Twitter Blue relaunch to skirt Apple's fee
Elon Musk recently criticized Apple's 30% "secret tax" on the App Store. Apart from expressing his displeasure, it seems that the billionaire doesn't want to pay Apple's fees. According to Platformer and The Verge, Twitter is delaying the relaunch of its revamped Blue verification system to skirt the 30% fee. Musk had announced that Twitter will tentatively relaunch its verification system this Friday.
Why does this story matter?
The Twitter-Apple rivalry is set to become the talk of the town for a while. Musk has been trying to portray himself as the David trying to take on the might of Apple. People may not buy into that, but Musk's stance will bring a lot of unwanted attention to Apple. And soon, more may start questioning Apple's policies.
Twitter Blue may not be available as in-app purchase
Twitter Blue, which opened up the blue tick for everyone for $7.99/month, was first launched on iOS. It seems that it may not return to iOS when it is eventually relaunched. iPhone users may not be able to buy the blue check mark as an in-app purchase, as Elon Musk is not ready to pay 30% of in-app purchases to Apple.
Musk called out Apple for cutting down its ads
The last few days have witnessed a budding rivalry between Musk and Apple. It started on November 18, when Musk called out the iOS/Android duopoly. He doubled down on Apple on Monday with a series of tweets. According to Musk, Apple, one of Twitter's biggest advertisers, has "mostly stopped advertising on Twitter." He added that Apple threatened to "withhold" Twitter from App Store.
Musk's recent actions may put Twitter at odds with Apple
Apple is yet to respond to Musk's allegations. According to The Verge, Musk's recent actions that axed content moderation teams and his decision to bring back suspended accounts may put Twitter at odds with App Store policies. App Store is known for its low content moderation standards, which even Parler, the controversial app connected to the Capitol riots, has achieved.
Twitter needs Apple more than Apple needs Twitter
If Twitter is indeed set on avoiding App Store after the relaunch of Blue verification, what does it mean for the platform? For Twitter, it means losing the chance to add the iPhone user base to the verification program. And just in case Apple decides to remove the app (which we doubt would happen), it will be a big loss for Twitter.
