The Digital Markets Act, aka DMA, came into force in Europe on March 6, 2024, bringing with it a cohort of changes aimed at ending the dominant position of digital giants. Its most visible effects affect the results of queries for those who use the Google search engine, but also, on the mobile side, the possibility of calling on the side-loading.
Understand that the user is no longer forced to download applications from the Apple App Store, and can now do so on their iPhone from alternative portals; a new feature authorized by the deployment of iOS 17.4, newly available on iPhones. A new rule accompanied by financial constraints for developers, since Apple announced in January that they would be taxed at 50 euro cents per download, after the first million installations; a figure that can quickly be reached by successful titles.
The Google universe is much more open, since there is a plethora of download portals as an alternative to the Play Store. But as noted TechCrunchMountain View aligns with its competitor’s strategy and announces the implementation of fees for developers using third-party stores.
A program called External offers program details the fees that will be applied to developers who offer users to bypass the Play Store. Concretely, a commission of 10% on the initial acquisition of an application, and 5% on subscriptions will be taken. As for the costs linked to Google services (security, parental controls, fight against fraud, and updates), they amount to 17% on in-app purchases and 7% on subscriptions. After two years, the developer may no longer use Play services, but with the user’s consent. It should be remembered that developers preferring the Play Store are subject to a 15% commission linked to the services provided by Google for the first million downloads of their application, then to a 30% tax on downloads beyond that. of this threshold.