5 Common Blockers iOS Developers Face (and How to Break Free)
Nov 20, 2025•4 min read
Building for iOS has always felt like renting a high-end apartment: the location is perfect, the neighbors are wealthy, but the landlord watches your every move—and can evict you without notice.
For years, this was the price of admission. You followed the rules, you paid the rent (the "Apple Tax"), and you hoped for the best. But for Builders in the European Union, the lease has changed. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) has opened the door to a new way of building, one where you own the property.
Here are the 5 most crippling restrictions iOS developers face today, and how Onside provides the infrastructure to dismantle them.
1. The "Black Box" of App Review
Every developer knows the anxiety of the "Waiting for Review" status. Will it take 2 hours or 2 weeks? Will you get a vague rejection citing "Guideline 4.2" with no clear path to resolution?
- The Blocker: Rejections are often subjective, inconsistent between reviewers, and can delay critical hotfixes or launch dates indefinitely.
- The Onside Fix: Radical Transparency.
- Speed: Our moderation process typically takes 2-3 hours, not days.
- Clarity: We operate on a simple principle: If it is legal in the EU, it is live. We don't reject apps because we don't "like" the concept or because it competes with our own services. You build, we distribute.
2. Payment Straitjackets (StoreKit)
Apple’s StoreKit is a marvel of friction—for you. It forces you into a rigid tiered pricing model and bans the payment methods that the modern web runs on.
- The Blocker: You cannot offer crypto payments, hybrid web/app subscriptions, or local payment methods (like iDEAL or SEPA) directly inside your app. Worst of all, you are locked into a 15–30% commission.
- The Onside Fix: Open Monetization.
- Flexibility: Integrate any payment processor you choose—Stripe, Adyen, or even crypto wallets.
- Economics: You pay standard processing fees (usually ~3%) plus our nominal platform fee (0–10%), keeping the lion's share of your revenue.
3. The "User Blindfold"
When a user downloads your game on the App Store, they aren't your customer—they are Apple's customer.
- The Blocker: You receive anonymized IDs, not emails. You cannot retarget lost users, build a newsletter, or port your high-value "whales" to other platforms because you don't own the relationship.
- The Onside Fix: Direct Data Ownership.
- Since you control the checkout flow, you capture the customer data directly (GDPR compliant, of course). Build your email list, run retargeting campaigns, and own the lifecycle of your player base from day one.
4. The Threat of Sudden Removal
Your business is built on rented land. A sudden policy shift or a "misunderstanding" about metadata can wipe out your revenue stream overnight.
- The Blocker: There is no true appeal process, only a request for reconsideration from the same entity that banned you.
- The Onside Fix: Sovereignty.
- We believe in enterprise-grade stability. As long as your app remains legal and secure, your distribution channel is guaranteed. We are infrastructure providers, not moral guardians.
5. Innovation Dead Ends (SDK Restrictions)
Want to use a bleeding-edge rendering engine? A new analytics tool? A customized compiler?
- The Blocker: Apple routinely blocks apps that use "unauthorized" third-party SDKs or external plugins, stifling technical innovation to maintain their "walled garden" control.
- The Onside Fix: Technical Freedom.
- Our native bridge and wrapper technology allow you to use the tools you need. If the code runs on iOS and is secure, you can ship it. Control your own update cycle and push features when they are ready, not when they are permitted.
Summary: Move From Renter to Owner
The friction you feel isn't a necessary part of development; it's a byproduct of a monopoly. By shifting your EU distribution to Onside, you aren't just saving on fees—you are removing the artificial ceilings on your business's growth.
Ready to stop asking for permission?
See how each challenge becomes manageable with Onside.