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Social app Damus warned by Apple Store! Bitcoin tipping feature violates rules, will be forced to remove

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Social app Damus warned by Apple Store! Bitcoin tipping feature violates rules, will be forced to remove

The decentralized social network Nostr launched the social application Damus in February this year, which was widely promoted by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and received strong praise from the crypto community for a while. However, Damus was initially filled with adult content and fraudulent messages, and its functionality remains rudimentary, leading to a gradual abandonment by users. Today, there are reports that it will be removed from the App Store.

Damus Overview: Your Twitter in control! Social network Nostr launches Damus app, promoted by Jack Dorsey

Damus Receives App Store Warning of Removal

According to an announcement from Damus, the team received a notice from the App Store team today, stating that Damus' Bitcoin tipping feature is considered a method of payment that goes beyond "in-app purchases," and although this feature is optional, it could still be used by content creators to sell digital content.

As a result, the App Store deemed this feature to be in violation of its usage guidelines and requested that the Damus team make improvements within 14 days.

In response, Damus stated that if people cannot freely engage in peer-to-peer transactions on the platform, it would have a significant impact on the ecosystem integrating the Lightning Network. Additionally, Damus emphasized that the platform does not sell any digital goods or provide the functionality to sell digital goods. The platform only has a tipping button to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions, similar to payment service providers like Venmo or Cashapp.

From Damus' statements, it is clear that they are not willing to compromise on this issue, and Damus may potentially be removed from the App Store after 14 days.

Damus to Adjust Existing Features to Comply with Apple's Policy Update on 6/14

Following the exposure of this issue, Damus stated that Apple has contacted them and discussed the matter, and currently, both parties have reached a consensus.

In a subsequent post, Damus announced that they will remove the zap button from posts, which is the feature for tipping with Bitcoin, as it would be considered selling digital content. The tipping feature will only be allowed to appear on individual profiles.

"This will severely weaken Damus, but at least you can still use zap," the Damus team remarked.

Regarding the restrictions currently faced by Damus, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey also publicly supported Damus, stating that the tipping feature in posts should not be seen as selling digital content but merely as a form of appreciation.

"Why limit people from sending Bitcoin to each other? This is an opportunity for us to create a truly global payment protocol for the Internet," said Jack Dorsey.

Additionally, Tim Sweeney, CEO of gaming industry giant Epic Games, also expressed his opinion on the matter, stating that Apple is targeting apps related to fund transfers and financing, such as Damus, Patreon, and Venmo.

Tim Sweeney believes that if digital goods involve money transfers, Apple would want to levy a 30% tax. If Apple can successfully tax these apps, they could also tax anything related to digital banking, payroll, and more.