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The Baltimore Banner & AdAge are among the first Pugpig Bolt apps to implement Apple’s External Link Entitlement feature

Read how these two Pugpig Bolt apps are implementing Apple’s External Link Entitlement and learn what it means for publishers.

24th May 2023

Since Apple announced the addition of the External Link account Entitlement (ELE) as an alternative to in-app subscription purchases, we’ve made several exciting updates to our Bolt product to ensure the best results for customers who decide to implement this feature.

We’re thrilled ELE is now live on two Pugpig Bolt apps: The Baltimore Banner and AdAge from Crain Communications, and we expect to see uptake from lots more publishers in the near future.

What is External Link Entitlement?

So what exactly is ELE and what are the benefits for publishers? Currently available for ‘reader’ apps (apps that provide magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, or video as the primary functionality), it means publishers are now able to offer a link out to a website where the user can create and/or manage their account.

In other words, you’re able to directly enable customers to create an account in your own auth systems rather than going through Apple.

What are the benefits for publishers?

There are multiple ways publishers can benefit from using ELE in their apps:

More subscriber revenue. By managing new member subscriptions and account creation within your own auth systems you’re keeping 100% of that revenue rather than 70-85% (Apple currently takes 15-30% of this for apps not using ELE, depending on size). This is far from small change, and you should see substantial gains as your audience base grows.

Better customer data. By capturing user data in your own databases rather than Apple’s, you get unlimited and unrivalled access to invaluable insights into your audience. This allows you to connect with them directly, identify your most valuable segments and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Much easier to facilitate cross-platform subscriptions. Before the addition of ELE, subscriptions were managed by Apple and included app subscriptions only, with cross-device access requiring extra, optional steps for the user. Now, by managing the user onboarding yourself, you can offer seamless subscriptions across both your app and web products.

The subscription landscape is changing

AdAge and The Baltimore Banner were quick to implement and push out an update, and we’re expecting this functionality to gain even more traction across our customer base very soon. For a relatively straightforward implementation (once a request has been submitted, criteria has been met and app has been approved), it presents an easy opportunity for publishers to retain more of their subscriber revenue and get even closer to their audience.

Pugpig Head of Product, Harry Phillips says

“The subscription landscape is changing, with publishers gaining greater control over their substantial userbases and how they close the loop with them. Flexibility is at the heart of Pugpig Bolt, so it made perfect sense for us to grab this opportunity and put it in the hands of our customers.”

Check out our documentation on ELE and alternative purchasing mechanisms for more information on applying for the entitlement, setting it up, and user experience.