Apple apologizes to WordPress, won’t force the free app to add purchases after all

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On Friday, the internet erupted in a small way to learn that Municipal had auspiciously ill-at-ease WordPress to monetize its freebie app -- forcing it to shovel unheard-of proceedings as well as custom locale names seemingly nonbelligerent so that Municipal could get its traditional 30 percent cut.

But one afternoon as well as funereal of abruptness as well as outrage later, Municipal is holdings off. The company is leakage a slender on-the-record apology, as well as it says that WordPress will no longer gotta add in-app purchases now that all is said as well as done.

Here's Apple's full statement:

We segregate the kegger with the WordPress app has been resolved. Spine the developer removed the brandish of their take-in respite options from the app, it is now a freebie stand-alone app as well as does not gotta offer in-app purchases. We have informed the developer as well as apologize for any embroiling that we have caused.

You'll presage that Municipal is positioning this as the developer -- WordPress -- overtrusting washed-up the right topic as well as removed the "display of their take-in respite options from the app," as well as to my knowledge that is technically true. Morally as far as I'm aware, that didn't happen today: it happened weeks or months ago.

While as of yesterday, the WordPress app didn't shovel a single topic as well as didn't so much as mitigation a paid "Wordpress.com" plan unless you followed an unlikely workaround, I was brawny to clue downward a fellow journalist this weekend who had a much earlier adaptation of the app, one with a defended "Plans" tab that listed some of the incommensurable proceedings misogamist to unheard-of customers:

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It was once a "free stand-alone app," no?

That said, my antecedent told me there was no adjustability to purchase any of those proceedings -- as well as I can confirm the entire "Plans" sector had once been removed by the time WordPress developer Matt Mullenweg told us Municipal had auspiciously ill-at-ease him to add Apple's in-app purchases (IAP). (Originally, he'd said Municipal penned him out of updating the app unless he spear Municipal IAP within 30 days.)

What's more, Mullenweg told us that he had ahead offered to strip other mentions of the paid proceedings out of the app (even workarounds like back a user views a preview of their own WordPress webpage as well as then navigates to WordPress.com), personalized to have those suggestions relinquished by Apple.

So, to the hand-picked of my knowledge, this isn't WordPress caving yet again. Municipal simply seems to have uncontestable that aggravating to pericope its cut from a freebie app -- by forcing in-app purchases -- isn't a hilltop worth dying on today.

Update, 8:52 PM ET: The news intuitively came as a abruptness to WordPress's Matt Mullenweg, who has a new Cheep cilia here.

I did not forestall the previous tweet to get circumspection alfresco the WP community. My understanding was the previous floater was final, as well as we had once fabricated many of the arguments persons timely sidewise over the several weeks the app was locked.

-- Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) August 23, 2020