November 01, 2022: -Apple recently revamped its App Store procedures with changes that, yet again, impact Facebook’s ad business.

The new rule shows that companies such as Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, can offer apps that permit people to buy and manage advertising campaigns in dedicated apps without using Apple’s payment system. Still, it regards purchasing an ad in a social media app as a digital purchase, from which Apple carries a 30% cut.

Meta wasn’t happy with the change. A Meta spokesperson stated, “Apple continues to evolve its policies to grow its own business while undercutting others in the digital economy.”

The episode is the latest skirmish from companies such as Meta that feel that Apple has too much power concerning mobile distribution and the ever-expanding and changing rules of Apple’s App Store, which is the only way to install apps on an iPhone.

Meta and Apple have been battling for years, but the rivalry has recently grown since Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency in the iPhone operating system last year. The privacy element permits users to decline to offer app developers like Meta a unique device ID that can be used to track ad performance. Meta says the change could cost it $10 billion this year.

Meta and Apple also appear poised to compete in the world of consumer hardware after Meta removed the Quest Pro headset. Apple has been developing a competing VR headset for years that could reportedly launch next year.

Apple stated that even before the latest guideline, the company considered social increases to be the digital purchase needed for Apple in-app purchases. The rule is more of a clarification than a new restriction.

“For many years now, the App Store guidelines have been clear that the sale of digital goods and services within an app must use In-App Purchase,” an Apple spokesman. “Boosting, which allows an individual or organization to pay to enhance 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 many examples of apps do it successfully.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, this individual restriction has long been a sticking point. Since it was still named Facebook, Meta negotiated with Apple over social media boosts and whether they would fall under Apple’s digital purchase rules.

Improving several social media companies’ present features. But most, like Twitter, already use Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism that lists enabled posts for $9.99 on Apple’s App Store. TikTok sells coins, or a currency used to encourage posts, through in-app purchases.