Apple clarified in October 2022 that sales of “boosted” posts in social networking applications have to go through the App Store’s in-app payment mechanism in their updated App Store Review Guidelines. As a result, Apple may get as much as 30% of these sales.

Following that clarification, Meta declared today that it will soon impose a 30% surcharge on advertising who buy boosted content via the iOS Facebook and Instagram applications. Thanks to this strategy, Meta will be able to pass on the additional cost to its clients, effectively offsetting the money it will owe Apple for each transaction. Additionally, advertisers purchasing boosted posts through the iOS applications will now have to pay beforehand, as opposed to Meta’s usual practice of collecting payment after the post is displayed.

According to Meta, this modification will go into force in more nations later this year and in the United States later this month. Advertisers that purchase boosted posts online at Facebook.com and Instagram.com can avoid the 30% fee and upfront payment.

“We are required to either comply with Apple’s guidelines, or remove boosted posts from our apps,” said Meta, in a press release today. “We do not want to remove the ability to boost posts, as this would hurt small businesses by making the feature less discoverable and potentially deprive them of a valuable way to promote their business.”

Meta previously said that “Apple continues to evolve its policies to grow their own business while undercutting others in the digital economy.”

According to Meta, boosted posts on Facebook and Instagram are used by millions of small businesses. For businesses, a boosted post is an essential advertising strategy that lets them pay to reach bigger audiences on Facebook and Instagram.

Apple Reacts

Apple responded to Meta’s statement by stating that in-app purchases for digital products and services have always been made through App Store apps.

“We have always required that purchases of digital goods and services within apps must use In-App Purchase,” said Apple, in a statement shared with MacRumors today. “Boosting, which allows an individual or organization to pay to increase the reach of a post or profile, is a digital service — so of course In-App Purchase is required. This has always been the case and there are many examples of apps that do it successfully.”

contacted Apple for an explanation, but it did not provide it. If boosted posts have always been viewed as digital services, then it is puzzling why Apple has permitted Meta to charge advertisers directly for so long. Since elaborating on its App Store Review Guidelines in October 2022, Apple seems to have, at the very least, permitted Meta to get around the App Store’s in-app purchase system for boosted postings. Clearly, that grace period is about to expire.

Apple responded by stating that it has in fact given Meta plenty of chances to adhere to the App Store Review Guidelines as they are currently written.

Apple further stated that since the Meta Ads Manager app for iOS complies with the App Store Review Guidelines, which allow apps made specifically for managing ad campaigns to offer direct payment options, businesses can use it to set up and pay for their ad campaigns without using the App Store’s in-app purchase system.