How to Beat the Apple Tax: Save 30% on Facebook & Instagram Ads

Boosting adverts through the Facebook or Instagram apps on your iPhone or iPad will now incur an additional 30% fee on top of your advertising expenses. This fee doesn’t go directly to Meta (Facebook’s parent company) but to the Apple store.

Why the change?

Apple is expanding its 30% “app tax” to include ad purchases within Facebook and Instagram on iOS devices globally.

Meta’s Privacy & Fairness Policy Director, Pedro Pavón, criticises this move as anti-competitive, making it harder for other companies to compete with Apple on pricing. He highlights ongoing legal challenges against Apple in the EU and US regarding this fee structure.

Apple’s Perspective

Apple argues it provides access to a massive user base for these companies, justifying the fee. This echoes the ongoing battle with Epic Games (Fortnite creator) who sued Apple over app store fees. A recent concession allows US app developers to include links directing users to external websites for payment, but with limitations like Apple Pay being a mandatory option and security warnings for users.

Beat the Apple tax: save 30% on Facebook and Instagram ads

If you’re concerned about the recent Facebook and Instagram ad fee increase, there are ways to get around it.

How to bypass the change

Go desktop: This is the simplest solution. Boost your content directly from facebook.com or instagram.com using your computer’s web browser. You’ll have all the same features as the app, but without the Apple fee!
Prepaid power: Top up your ad account with prepaid funds directly through facebook.com. Then, use those funds for boosting within the Facebook iOS app, bypassing Apple’s charges.
Meta business suite: This handy app (or web version) lets you manage content across your Facebook and Instagram pages. Bonus: you can boost content here too, avoiding the Apple tax!
Meta Ads Manager: Like Meta Business Suite, Ads Manager offers a powerful platform to create and manage your ads, all from your computer, keeping that 30% in your pocket.

Final thoughts

Managing and boosting your creatives through the desktop Meta Business Suite can avoid this extra charge. The web interface offers all the same features as the in-app ad boosting options and has more options for targeting and bidding.

Remember: These methods currently avoid the Apple fee, but keep an eye on updates, as things can change.

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