From the 6th February 2025 there will be changes to how online content (on-demand resources, sessions marked available online and any courses that include one or both of these) is handled in the Gymcatch iOS and Android apps.
Google have determined that the current ability to purchase content using both our on-demand and livestream features is not compliant with their Payments Policy. Apple have determined that the current ability to purchase content using our on-demand feature is not compliant with their Payments Policy.
As a result we had two choices; either to implement Apple In-App Purchases and Google’s Play billing system, or stop those purchases being available in their mobile apps. As the former would entail commission payments to Apple and Google (30%) and funds having to come to us first as the app developer, we quickly concluded this option was unworkable for our clients.
We have therefore had to take the difficult decision to stop those purchases being available in the related mobile apps. Google have required that those items are fully removed, whereas with Apple they will remain visible and accessible if bought on web, but now can only be purchased on web. This will be fully live across new versions of the apps immediately.
We appreciate this is very frustrating for all and please rest assured we have been in extensive communication about this with Apple and Google for months, appealing on our customers behalf numerous times. We are also assured, and our own research confirms, that other booking platforms have the exact same requirements in place, so whilst frustrating, we are not an outlier - we can provide specific evidence of this if helpful.
We will, of course, keep a close eye on their policy and current legislative changes and challenges that may impact this ruling in the future.
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Livestream