Apple is killing its App Store affiliate program

In a move that will shake the mobile app ecosystem, Apple has announced it will be ending it’s affiliate program for apps.

Starting October 1st, Apple will remove iOS apps, Mac apps, and all in-store app purchases from its affiliate program. The company will no longer payout commissions to third-parties who send Apple sales for any and all of those items. All other iTunes store content, such as films, TV shows, music, and books, will remain part of the affiliate program.

According to Apple, the decision to remove apps from its affiliate program is due to its revamped and relaunched App Store, complete with real human editors, which focuses on discover of news and popular apps.

Apple broke it down in an email announcement to its affiliates:

Thank you for participating in the affiliate program for apps. With the launch of the new App Store on both iOS and macOS and their increased methods of app discovery, we will be removing apps from the affiliate program. Starting on October 1st, 2018, commissions for iOS and Mac apps and in-app content will be removed from the program. All other content types (music, films, books, and TV) remain in the affiliate program.

On social media, many people are outraged. The app affiliate program enabled many third-party, completely independent from Apple, websites to write about and honestly review iOS and Mac apps. These outlets — websites like AppShopper, Touch Arcade, and AppAdvice — were able to sustain regular coverage and app reviews due in major part to the money made from the apps purchased from their affiliate links. 

Upon seeing the news of Apple ending its app affiliate program, TouchArcade editor-in-chief Eli Hodapp took to Twitter.

In a post on TouchArcade, Hodapp further wrote:

I genuinely have no idea what TouchArcade is going to do. Through thick and thin, and every curveball the industry threw at us, we always had App Store affiliate revenue- Which makes a lot of sense as we drive a ton of purchases for Apple. I don’t know how the takeaway from this move can be seen as anything other than Apple extending a massive middle finger to sites like TouchArcade, AppShopper, and many others who have spent the last decade evangelizing the App Store and iOS gaming.

And TouchArcade’s editor-in-chief was quick to point out, as did others, that these websites aren’t the only ones who would be hurt by this move from Apple. Indie iOS app and game developers would feel the pain too.

Apple’s focus on discovery in its App Store may be a move in the right direction, but it will never make up for the coverage lesser known developers get from third party, independent websites. And, on the day Apple becomes the world’s first trillion dollar company, they can certainly afford to keep sharing the 2.5 to 7 percent affiliate commission from its app profits with the very indie websites that drive them sales.