The creator of the decentralized social media platform Damus, William Casarin, informed users that Apple would allow zaps, with a minor adjustment. This development potentially enables Damus to remain on Apple’s App Store, despite previous reports suggesting its imminent removal within 14 days.
Initially, Apple had requested Damus to modify its bitcoin tipping feature, called zaps, to comply with the app store guidelines. Apple’s concern was that zaps might facilitate the sale of digital content outside of the in-app purchases mechanism, violating their guidelines. It should be noted that Apple typically takes a 30% cut from most in-app purchases.
Following Damus’ viral tweet, which displayed Apple’s communication regarding the impending delisting, the social platform received contact from Apple, and a call was scheduled. Apple confirmed the conversation took place and reached an understanding with Damus regarding the survival of zaps on the platform.
According to Apple, they provided guidance to the developer on resolving the issue and confirmed that it could be addressed in the next update. Damus creator William Casarin also addressed the situation on the Damus app, explaining the forthcoming changes to zaps. Currently, users can tip others through a lightning button at the bottom of their notes (equivalent to tweets). Apple requested the removal of this feature but agreed to allow Damus users to tip each other on their profiles.
In a post at 2:04 pm ET, Casarin stated, “Damus can keep the zap button on the profile but not notes. It is considered ‘selling digital content’ if it’s on notes.” However, a subsequent tweet from Damus at 2:41 pm ET claimed that this change would “cripple” the platform.
Blockworks reached out to Apple but did not receive an immediate response. Damus promotes itself as a more private and secure alternative to Twitter, offering features such as end-to-end encrypted private messaging and not requiring users to provide a name, phone number, or email, according to its page on the App Store.