Evan Spiegel, CEO of SNAP Inc.
Stephen Desaulniers | CNBC
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said Friday the social media company is happy to pay Apple’s 30% commission rate on in-app transactions.
“We really feel that Snapchat would not exist without the iPhone and without the amazing platform Apple created,” said Spiegel on TechCheck. “With that in mind, I’m not sure we can pay the 30% fee, and of course we’re excited to do so in exchange for all of the amazing technology they offer us in terms of software but also in terms of their hardware advances. “
Spiegel’s comments are in stark contrast to those of business mogul Barry Diller, who got into Apple on Friday for cutting in-app transactions and claims that his companies are “disgustingly overwhelmed” by Apple.
“The idea that they actually justify it by saying, ‘We’re spending all this money protecting our little app store,'” said Diller. “I mean, it’s criminal. Well, it will be criminal.”
Diller’s comments came on the same day that Apple CEO Tim Cook testified in an antitrust case focused on the Epic Games app store, which makes the widely used video game Fortnite.
However, Spiegel said Apple has been a great partner for Snap. Spiegel also praised Apple’s decision to make changes to the company’s latest version of iOS to give users more privacy.
“We’re really focused on the changes they’re making to protect privacy,” said Spiegel. “And so far, the early investments we made nearly 10 years ago to protect user privacy on our platform are really paying off.”
Regarding the impact of these privacy changes on Snap’s advertising business, Spiegel said the company has been working to help its advertisers migrate to Apple’s SKAdNetwork, which is used by the iPhone maker to help advertisers make their business more effective Measure ads.
“So far, this transition has gone smoothly for our business,” said Spiegel.
His comments come a day after Snap acquired UK company WaveOptics for $ 500 million and the company’s annual Snap Partner Summit. There, Snap announced a new version of its Augmented Reality glasses from Spectacles, new e-commerce features and a new typing function that developers can use to make money.
Comments are closed.