Once Again, Apple Isn't Following Its Own Advertising Rules (theverge.com)

Apple News Plus, the company's new magazine (and news) subscription service, is the latest offender because of how easy Apple makes it to subscribe. From a report: Just tap that "Try it Free" button, confirm your payment, and you're off to the races. Thing is, Apple forbids developers from making things seem quite this simple. Typically, Apple protects users from recurring fees by requiring developers to make those numbers so large on the screen that it's painfully obvious what you're getting into, how often you'll pay, and how to cancel if you decide you're not interested anymore. Here are some screenshots from Apple's dev website so you can see just how crystal-clear the developer "guidelines" are. For whatever reason, Apple decided that a cleaner, more attractive layout, one that hides some of the information it asks of developers, was the right choice for Apple News Plus.

Comments

"free" trial

[stealth_finger]

I don't sign up to free trials that want payment details in advance, so generally I don't get free trials.

Re: "free" trial

[sremick]

Just use an empty Visa/MC gift card that still had an unexpired date. I'm always getting them from rebates and crap, so I always keep the numbers from an unexpired one handy just for stuff like this.

Re: "free" trial

[ewibble]

Gift cards are another rip off, give them some money and it expires. The reason they state it needs to expire is they don't want a liability on their books. Next time you go into a bank tell that the mortgage has expired after 2 years because you don't want that liability on our books see what they say. Just give cash, no fees, no expiry.

"Free trials" with payment required are not free

[Opportunist]

Any "free trials" that want your payment details in advance are not free trials, they're a subscription waiting to bite you in the ass. And since Apple pretty much has your payment details already as soon as you are one of their victims, there is no such thing as a free trial from Apple, period.

Re:Privacy first

[Anubis IV]

This has nothing to do with privacy. This is about price transparency.

It's about how prices are displayed to the user before they sign up for a subscription. Apple requires App Store developers to disclose subscription prices in prominently displayed, plainly written text before the user is ever prompted with the confirmation dialog. In contrast, what Apple itself is doing is showing no pricing info at all until the user reaches the confirmation dialog. The user will still see the amount, but they won't see it until much later than they would in the workflow of any other app in the App Store. And while Apple isn't legally or contractually held to the same standard to which they hold App Store developers, it's a bad look for a company to engage in sliminess that they wouldn't allow of others.

Hopefully they fix the screen in response to the bad PR, because fixing it is the right thing to do, but we'll see what happens.

Seems they comply

[Anonymous Coward]

While i dislike apple, reading their actual requirements, it seems their own app does fulfill those:

Include the following in the app description and in your app’s signup screen:
o Subscription name, duration, and the content or services provided during each subscription period
o The following information about how users are charged and can manage the subscription:
oo Payments are charged to the user’s Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase.
oo Subscriptions automatically renew unless the user cancels at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.
oo The account is charged for renewal within 24-hours before the end of the current period.
oo Users can manage and cancel subscriptions in their account settings on the App Store.
o A link to your app’s Terms of Use