- Meta will pass Apple’s 30% App Store fee to advertisers.
- Meta argues it must either comply or remove the popular boost feature.
- The surcharge joins wider protests of expanded App Store taxes harming small businesses.
Meta announced this week it will tack on a 30% surcharge when advertisers pay to boost the visibility of Facebook and Instagram posts in the platforms’ iOS apps.
The move comes as Apple begins taking its standard 30% App Store cut on boosted posts under recent policy changes.
“Apple-tax” passed to marketers & creators
Rather than absorb the so-called “Apple tax” itself, Meta is passing the extra fee directly on to marketers and creators running iOS boost campaigns.
The company argues its hands are tied to either comply or remove the popular boost feature altogether.
Services subject to purchase rules
The 30% upcharge initiated by Meta, which also covers prepaid balance top-ups for boost purchases, debuted in the US this month ahead of wider international rollout later this year.
Apple maintains such digital services have always been subject to in-app purchase rules.
.jpg)
Developers protesting in the expanded App Store
Meta joins a chorus of developers protesting expanded App Store taxes as harmful to small businesses.
But ultimately, the company conceded boosts were too valuable for creators to axe – even if the extra costs are now frontloaded onto advertisers wanting to reach iPhone users.
