Acknowledged
11 months ago

Connect IQ Store Product page misleading information on monetization status

On developer dashboard product configuration there is information:

Section Monetization:

If your app requires or requests payment in order to enable any or all of its features, please let us know below. Failure to choose "Yes" for an app that requires or requests payments may result in the app being removed or de-listed from the Connect IQ Store.

Meanwhile on the:

https://developer.garmin.com/connect-iq/app-review-guidelines/

Detailed Guidelines
d. Monetization of Your App

An app requires payment if the user must pay to access or use any primary feature of the app (i.e., those features that are advertised in the app’s description, excluding any features that are clearly labeled optional). In contrast, an app is not considered to require payment, if the only features that require payment or subscription are optional.

And then:

https://forums.garmin.com/developer/connect-iq/b/news-announcements/posts/tips-for-monetizing-your-apps
Your primary features should be listed in the app description. Note that for watch faces, it is assumed that viewing the time is a primary feature of the app. This will show the "Payment Required" badge in the app store.

So, we have 2 cases here:

1. product page suggest that you NEED to check Monetization info as Yes (paid).
2. guidelines suggest that you need to enable Monetization if your app requires payment only for PRIMARY FEATURES.

Please guys, clarify and fix it. This information should be consistent.

For me, logically obvious solution is applying THE GUIDELINES, because it's official document and it's explaining reasoning quite well. But product page, Monetization section is misleading.
So, my watchface has PRIMARY free features which allow for full usage. Additional SECONDARY/OPTIONAL features are not needed for usage, but they add value for the user if he wants more OPTIONAL features. In this case I don't think I should check Monetization:YES for such app and this should be more clearly stated or instead given link to guidelines as single source of truth.
Dr House
Parents
  • 11 months ago

    You're correct that there is some inconsistency here that must be addressed. In the past, our guidelines were to require the flag if your app requires payment for the use of primary features. A common example is a watch face that is free to use, but can unlock the ability to change background colors with payment. That was the intent behind that guideline.

    With the imposition of the EU Digital Services Act, we've had to tighten those guidelines so that the flag is required if payment is needed for use of any features in your app. Developers are currently allowed to request donations & tips without the payment required flag for apps that are otherwise free to use.

    In the case presented by the OP, the payment required flag should be checked in order to comply with the EU DSA. We know that there is inconsistency between our documentation and the developer dashboard—this will be addressed soon.

Comment
  • 11 months ago

    You're correct that there is some inconsistency here that must be addressed. In the past, our guidelines were to require the flag if your app requires payment for the use of primary features. A common example is a watch face that is free to use, but can unlock the ability to change background colors with payment. That was the intent behind that guideline.

    With the imposition of the EU Digital Services Act, we've had to tighten those guidelines so that the flag is required if payment is needed for use of any features in your app. Developers are currently allowed to request donations & tips without the payment required flag for apps that are otherwise free to use.

    In the case presented by the OP, the payment required flag should be checked in order to comply with the EU DSA. We know that there is inconsistency between our documentation and the developer dashboard—this will be addressed soon.

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