Startup Sees Apple ‘Firewall’ Lowering Over App Store Fees

Apple’s recent decision to allow app makers to tell customers about payment options outside its mobile App Store largely underwhelmed developers. But Sahil Lavingia, founder and CEO of Gumroad, a seller of services for creators, said there’s reason to believe Apple could eventually concede to future demands. 

“It feels like the narrative is shifting quite a bit,” Lavingia said in an interview. “Even this tiny, tiny change is a sign that the Apple firewall is falling very slowly.”

As a result of these changes, Lavingia said he plans to resubmit Gumroad’s app to Apple’s review process this week. The updated app would include the option for customers to click on a payment link from the app; currently they can only make purchases on Gumroad’s website. “We’ll just submit it and see what happens,” he said.