Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said Apple has been delaying an App Store update for the app that would “revolutionize the way people express themselves in messaging. In a Telegram message Thursday, Durov said the upcoming update has been in Apple’s review process for two weeks, and Apple has not offered any explanation for the delay.
If Telegram, one of the top 10 most popular apps in the world, is being treated this way, we can only imagine the difficulties small app developers are going through,” Durov wrote.
Telegram’s CEO also slammed Apple and Google for charging a 30 percent commission on apps and in-app purchases. Durov said the app review delay is just another disservice to commissions, which he likened to a “tax.
“Regulators in the EU and elsewhere are slowly starting to investigate these abusive practices,” he said.” But the economic damage Apple has already done to the tech industry won’t be eliminated.”
This isn’t the first time Telegram’s updates have gotten stuck in Apple’s app review process. Back in 2018, Apple delayed a global update after Russian authorities asked Apple to remove the secure messaging app from the App Store.
Other app developers and executives have complained about Apple’s app review process in the past, with Hopscotch CEO Samantha John calling Apple’s review process “Kafkaesque” in 2021.
In recent years, Apple has made moves to revise its app store policies, including updating its app review process and rules and imposing a lower commission of 15 percent on apps that earn less than $1 million.
