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0 pointshbn8mo ago0 comments

> Nothing would change for you.

If my apps are changing, yes it is changing for me.

Right now I can manage all of my app subscriptions from the Subscriptions screen in the Settings app of my devices. If they open up to other payment methods, my subscriptions are no longer centralized, I have to give my credit card information to more parties of variable trustworthiness, I have to worry about subscription renewal policies for every individual app, I have to figure out different methods of cancelling which could be a more difficult process than hitting "cancel" and trusting Apple will stop the payments, etc.

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spogbiper8mo ago

sound like an opportunity for a service that provides the conveniences you enjoy without the lock in and high taxes that Apple requires. imagine an app store that was curated more carefully, where every app was hand tested and with a guarantee of safety that Apple has not provided. a subscription manager with even better UI, lower fees, etc. a payment processor that offered better terms than Apple does.

but we cannot have these until the lock in is removed

wilsonnb38mo ago

I think those problems are largely also due to anti competitive and anti consumer behaviors.

We need to craft legislation saying software vendors have to support some kind of standardized payment system with easy cancellation built in to it rather than relying on Apples good will.

Digit-Al8mo ago

Here in the UK we have something called Direct Debit, that is backed by the Direct Debit guarantee. All regular payments are made by DD and we can cancel a regular payment at any time just by contacting our bank. I can go into my banking app, review a list of all DD payments, and cancel any of them with just the press of a button. You should campaign to have that system in America.

I often find it strange that a country that is so advanced in many ways is so backwards when it comes to banking.

ghusto8mo ago

It's really not as scary as you think it is.

Whenever I want a subscription I want inside an app, I actually take the effort to go to their website and buy it from them directly, because it's cheaper (not that they're allowed to tell me this in their app though).

When I want to stop paying for the subscription, I cancel it and I'm done. At least in the EU, this is always an easy thing to do.

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