Apple loses in court, has to stop charging developers for payments outside of the App Store

Apple's request for a stay on a US court's ruling has been denied, so it has to immediately stop charging developers for payments made outside of the App Store. The company filed an emergency motion last month seeking a stay on a ruling in April, which found Apple in "willful violation" of a 2021 injunction that barred it from forcing anticompetitive pricing. It's also filed an appeal against that ruling, which is yet to be finalized, so things could still change in the future.

Apple’s stay is denied by the 9th Circuit Court. The long national nightmare of the Apple tax is ended.

May next week’s WWDC be the Apple-led celebration of freedom that developers and users have long deserved. pic.twitter.com/f0A3IAVKNC

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) June 4, 2025

But for now, Apple needs to stop taking a 27% fee on apps getting paid through non-Apple payment mechanisms, which amazingly it has been doing since it started allowing apps to link out and not handle payments exclusively through Apple. The company also has to eliminate the 'scare screens' it shows users before letting them use third-party payment providers for iOS apps.

Spotify and Amazon are already making changes to their apps to reflect the new situation, so now you can pay for your purchases and subscriptions outside of the App Store without any 'Apple Tax'.