Damus, a decentralized social media platform known for its support of payments over the blockchain‘s lightning network, has been removed from the App Store by Apple over Bitcoin tipping. Expressing his disapproval, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who made significant investments in Damus during its early stages, took to Twitter in a sarcastic tone to criticize Apple’s decision.
Removed from the App Store for enabling tipping to everyone in the world without the need for a bank, payment card, or government permission.https://t.co/kfeQNfal8Q
— jack (@jack) June 27, 2023
He highlighted that the App Store removed Damus, a platform that enabled global tipping without relying on banks, governments, or payment cards. The removal came after Apple claimed that Damus violated its in-app purchases guidelines.
Damus also responded to Apple’s decision with a tweet, stating that Apple suggested using Apple Pay as a solution. Damus further expressed that the platform would consider using Apple Pay once it supports “censorship-resistant and peer-to-peer payments” worldwide.
Their suggested fix is to use apple pay. Sure, I'll use apple pay when it supports censorship resistant, peer-to-peer payments to anyone in the world. Maybe start with peer-to-peer first? pic.twitter.com/IssOyC0btx
— Damus⚡️ (@damusapp) June 27, 2023
Since its launch in February, Damus has gained significant support from Dorsey, who invested approximately $245,000 worth of bitcoin (equivalent to 14 BTC at the time) to fund the development of Damus’s protocol called Nostr.
Highlighting its decentralized platform, Damus previously offered a tipping feature known as “zaps” that allowed users to tip in Bitcoin for posts they interacted with. Apple argued that these zaps constitute in-app purchases for digital content, which must be processed through Apple’s in-app purchase system.
Apple provided Damus with a 14-day period to remove the tipping feature and comply with its in-app Guidelines 3.1.1 for Business Payments. In response, Damus defended that no in-app content is unlocked when users receive tips, but Apple remained unsatisfied with this explanation.
Apple’s guidelines, particularly in relation to Bitcoin tipping supported by Damus, generated significant discussion. Apple aimed to maintain control over transactions occurring on its platform to the fullest extent of the law, and the tipping feature violated its guidelines.
In an effort to comply, Damus modified the app’s tipping feature by removing the tips button from posts and only allowing tips on profiles. However, despite these adjustments, Apple did not accept the changes as compliant with its guidelines. Apple stated that even though tips or donations are optional, if they are connected to or associated with receiving digital content, they must use the in-app purchase system outlined in Guideline 3.1.1.
Apple suggested that developers resolve this issue by either revising their apps to utilize in-app purchases for such transactions or completely removing transactions from the app. According to Apple’s guidelines, in-app content transactions must go through Apple, which charges a 30% commission. Following ongoing discussions, Apple ultimately removed Damus from its platform on June 27, 2023.
