---
title: "Apple Loses Control Over App Payment Links in US"
description: "In a big win for app developers, a US judge has ruled that Apple can no longer control or take a cut from external payment links in apps available on the App Store in the United States. This decision..."
url: https://brandligo.com/apple-loses-control-over-app-payment-links-in-us/
date: 2025-05-10
modified: 2025-05-10
author: "Junaid Abro"
image: https://brandligo.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/app-store-2024-v2.webp
categories: ["Tech News"]
tags: ["app developers", "App Store", "App Store policy", "apple", "Apple vs Epic", "Epic Games", "external payments", "in-app purchases", "iOS", "mobile payments", "Spotify", "Tech News", "US court ruling"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# Apple Loses Control Over App Payment Links in US

In a big win for app developers, a US judge has ruled that Apple can no longer control or take a cut from external payment links in apps available on the App Store in the United States.

This decision came from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers as part of the long-running legal fight between [Apple](https://brandligo.com/apples-iphone-17-air-avoids-bold-innovation/) and Epic Games, which started over four years ago. While Apple had won a previous ruling, this latest one favors Epic and all developers who don’t want to use Apple’s payment system.

**According to the new order:**

- Apple can’t charge any fees or commissions for purchases made outside the app.
- Developers are free to add links or buttons that take users to third-party websites for payments.
- Apple can’t control how these links look or where they’re placed.
- Apple also can’t show warning messages to scare users when they click on these links—only a neutral message is allowed.

The ruling comes after[ Apple’s VP](https://www.apple.com/leadership/) of Finance, Alex Roman, was caught lying in court, and it was revealed that CEO Tim Cook knowingly chose to ignore a previous court order, even though another top Apple executive advised against it.

Apple said in a statement that they “strongly disagree with the decision,” but they will follow the court’s orders and plan to appeal.

Before this ruling, Apple required all in-app purchases to go through its own system, taking up to 30% of the money. Developers were not allowed to even mention alternative payment options. When courts first told Apple to allow outside links, Apple started showing warnings and still charged a 27% fee on those external payments.

Epic Games and Spotify both welcomed this new ruling and said they would be updating their apps to reflect the changes.