Google Play/App Store in-app purchase policies

Question

I heard from someone that on App Store, everything you sell or anything the user buys, Apple must have their 30% on it. That would imply that even if you open a web page within the app and accept a donation, Apple must have its percentage. Otherwise you would have to redirect the user to make this donation outside of the app - for instance, calling the browser.

So, if it's true, I wanted to know if Google holds the same policies. I couldn't find this specific answer in the documentation, just info about in-app purchase (but I'm considering that scenario a purchase within the app, but not IN the app itself (sorry if it sounds confusing).

Taking Groupon as example. If you buy a coupon, is it an "in-app purchase"? I don't believe Google would take 30% on everything you buy there, so I just wanted to make sure it is according to their rules.

The app I'm working on will have both donation and coupon purchase from sponsors (Walgreens, etc). Is it ok if I do this through a WebView, or would I have to actually call the browser?

Sorry if my concept of "in-app purchase" is blurred.

Any information on this topic is much appreciated.

EDIT:

From my understanding, In-App Purchase (for both Google and Apple) is like an API that you use to process these payments. What I find confusing is that, for instance, in the Apple's In-App Purchase Guidelines: So, does it mean I cannot use Apple's In-App Purchase to sell my book (but could open my e-commerce site in the app and sell it), or I cannot sell my book at all inside my app? I know it may sound like a dumb question, but it doesn't seem so clear to me.

Answer 1

The standard 30% transaction fee applies to in-app transactions on Google Play and goes to the distribution partner and operating fees.

According to the Google Play Developer Program Policies:

In-app purchases:

• Developers offering virtual goods or currencies within a game downloaded from Google Play must use Google Play's in-app billing service as the method of payment.

• Developers offering additional content, services or functionality within another category of app downloaded from Google Play must use Google Play's in-app billing service as the method of payment, except: >

  • where payment is primarily for physical goods or services (e.g., buying movie tickets, or buying a publication where the price also includes a hard copy subscription); or
  • where payment is for digital content or goods that may be consumed outside of the app itself (e.g., buying songs that can be played on other music players).

Reference: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/112622

With In-App Purchase on iOS and OS X, you can offer your customers additional digital content, functionality, services and even subscriptions within your paid or free app.

For example, In-App Purchase will allow you to sell:

• Digital books or photos
• Additional game levels
• Access to a turn-by-turn map service
• Subscriptions to digital magazines or newsletters
• Digital content hosted on Apple servers

There are four supported categories of In-App Purchase items that you may sell: 1) Content, 2) Functionality, 3) Services, and 4) Subscriptions. You must deliver your digital good or service within your app. You may not use In-App Purchase to sell real-world goods and services.

Reference: https://developer.apple.com/in-app-purchase/In-App-Purchase-Guidelines.pdf