Apple, Facebook discussed revenue-sharing before privacy battles

designr said:
Interesting. Very interesting.

If what happened was Apple proposed to Facebook to develop an iOS app that has an ad-free subscription tier, it's a nothing burger.

That's standard retail store or App Store practice. For a while, Apple was pushing everyone to develop a subscription tier. Apple proposed to Amazon that if they get someone to subscribe to Amazon Prime through the iOS app, Apple gets a cut of the subscription. Just replace Amazon Prime with Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, any service that has a subscription, Apple wants a cut if the customer subscribes through the iOS app. Some big fish went for it in the beginning, but they gradually just got people to subscribe through their own websites or other vehicles, like ATT and HBO Max.

Facebook with a paid ad-free tier? That idea did make the rounds a while back. Facebook didn't test the waters.