For users
Tired of apps that are full of ads?
Fake free apps that are constantly trying to sell you in-app subscriptions?
Simply bad apps that don’t do what they promised?
Let’s be honest: Apple’s store is full of junk, and Apple doesn’t care because they’re making so much money from all those spammy in-app purchases and ads.
Soon you’re going to have a choice of app stores on your iPhone and iPad — finally. Upcoming European legislation will break Apple’s monopoly on app distribution (expected to pass in 2024).
Fair Apps is the new app marketplace that puts you first. No in-app purchases. No endless ads.
Simply fair prices for quality from fair developers.
For parents
It’s extra challenging to find games and apps that are fit for your children. Kids get shown far too many ads and in-app purchases that they don’t understand. And a lot of vendors on Apple’s store try to take advantage of your children. Sadly there’s very little quality control: it’s impossible to check apps when Apple’s store has millions of them.
The kids’ section on the Fair Apps store has handpicked apps from developers you can trust. The store has strict rules for child-friendly content, and the rules are actively enforced.
- No weird generated content.
- No ads that a child must watch to progress.
- No games where you must pay to keep playing.
Real stories and age-appropriate honest fun. Buy a game or app once, and you can trust that it will provide quality entertainment to your kids without turning into a slot machine or billboard behind your back.
For developers
Apple still takes a 30% cut of small indie developers’ income. That’s frankly outrageous.
The Fair Apps Co-Op is owned by developers themselves. Its fees are based on the actual expenses of credit card processing and software distribution. We expect this to be always below 10% of an app’s purchase price. In other words, your margin will look a whole lot better with Fair Apps.
Publishing on the Fair Apps store is a sign of quality. Every app is validated by thoughtful and competent reviewers employed by the co-op. You can reach a new audience through Fair Apps — the kind of people who don’t mind paying once for the quality and care that you put in your software. It’s a fair deal for everyone.
The co-op model
Every developer who publishes apps on the Fair Apps store also becomes an owner of the store. This is made possible by the co-operative structure of the business.
The Fair Apps Co-Op is registered in Finland. In the first phase, any developer around the world can become a co-op member. Decisions made by the co-op are voted democratically. Eventually also users may be able to join as members and receive benefits like discounts.
It’s more fair than a regular corporation in some important respects. There is no “supervoting” majority of founder or investor shares that could override regular members. The co-op organization can’t be acquired because its ownership is distributed to individuals. Simply put, a co-op can’t be taken over by venture capitalists, private equity, or Big Tech interests.
Co-ops are not well known in the software industry, but around the world they have a long history of providing quality and fairness to various communities. The co-op organizational model lets software developers take control over their own distribution and destiny.
Questions? Anything you want to talk about?
Contact Pauli Ojala, [redacted]pobox.com