Damus says there is “nothing Apple can do” to stop its Bitcoin Lightning tips

Decentralized social media platform Damus has hit back at Apple over a thread to remove its app from the APP store, saying the tech giant cannot prevent the use of Bitcoin Lightning tips, known as “zaps,” on its platform.

The team behind Damus said, “There’s nothing Apple can do” to stop Bitcoin Lightning tips on its platform.

The comment included a re-tweeted post from Documenting Bitcoin, which charted the platform’s daily tips, or zaps, reaching over a million on June 15 – suggesting strong support for Damus. The zaps feature allows users to tip content creators using a Bitcoin Lightning-supported payment system.

On June 13, Damus disclosed that Apple threatened App Store removal due to the platform’s zaps feature.

“Zaps refer to a Bitcoin Lightning-backed payment mechanism, enabling people to tip content creators on Nostr clients, such as Damus.”

Apple stated using zaps to pay for digital content violated its guidelines as its “in-app purchase” mechanism is the only one approved for use.

Square CEO Jack Dorsey pointed out that tipping on posts is not related to selling digital content; instead, “It’s a form of feedback.” Tagging Apple CEO Tim Cook, he asked why Apple is limiting people from sending Bitcoin.

At the time, Damus did not indicate whether it would comply and remove the zaps feature, only that the incident represented a “watershed moment” concerning freedom and people’s right to transact peer-to-peer.

However, on June 16, the social media platform posted a defiant tweet, saying Apple cannot stop the zaps from flowing. It added:

“They are fighting a losing battle against open protocols. Arbitrarily restricting ways users can zap in our app will only hurt their customer base for no reason or gain.”

A later tweet thread from Damus mentioned that debanked people cannot use Apple Pay, whereas zaps have no such restrictions. The platform called Apple “Truly evil and misguided” for taking “30% of fundraisers and humanitarian aid posts.”

Apple informed CryptoSlate that its guidelines allow for peer-to-peer monetary gifts without using “in-app purchase” if the gift is optional and the entire donation goes to the recipient. However, gifts related to digital content or services must go through Apple’s proprietary payment service.

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