When folks in the olden days spoke of spreading good will to all men, Apple obviously wasn't listening. The App Store doesn't allow charities to include a donation option in their apps and now non-profit organisations are using the festive season call them out on it.
Many recognised charities across the world have iPhone apps nestling in the App Store, packed full of information, but none of them allow interested parties to make a donation.
If users want to help the charity out they need to go through the cumbersome process of leaving the app and negotiating their way through web links, which are often poorly optimised for smartphones.
In protest Beth Kanter, author of "The Networked Nonprofit" has told her 360,000 Twitter followers that she's ditching her iPhone for an Android handset.
She said: "When you’re popped out of an app, you then have to go through a whole bunch of clicks to make a donation. "It’s cumbersome and it doesn’t have to be."
Apple declined to comment on exactly why they refuse to accept donations, but a spokeperson said: "We are proud to have many applications on our App Store which accept charitable donations via their websites."
In the past, Apple has allowed American Red Cross donations through iTunes, but when PayPal added a donate option to its App, the Cupertino company demanded that it be removed. Come on Apple, spread a little Christmas cheer...
Link: NY Times
Posted by Chris Smith
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