This change comes if creators use unsupported third-party billing options or cripple transactions on iOS. This decision applies if the creators use Apple’s in-app purchasing system for Patreon subscriptions.
Creators must switch to Patreon’s subscription billing to keep earning money through their iOS app. In a blog post, Patreon says they will migrate all creators to the Apple iOS in-app sale system by November 2025. This process will take 16 months. The change won’t affect current subscriptions, the Patreon membership, or the Android app. But, because Patreon already has a set of platform fees, the Apple commission will put creators in a difficult spot.
`Unless creators choose to absorb the Apple App Store Fee themselves, new transactions in the Patreon iOS app will be more expensive than the same purchase on the web because of Apple’s App Store Fee,` said Patreon. If the creators delay their Patreon settings to November 2025, they won’t get memberships in the iOS app until they adopt the Apple iOS in-app purchase system.
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This announcement shows the Apple App Store rules have been applied unequally. Apple faced another accusation in the past from critics, including Epic Games. The company sued the tech company over antitrust issues. The court decided Apple would have allowed links to other payment options inside their apps. Apple now lets developers promote their subscriptions via links to a website. The commission is 27% instead of 30%, or 12%.
Until this year, Patreon avoided the Apple 30% fee using alternative payment processors. In 2021, Jack Conte, the Patreon CEO, said it doesn’t have `some special contract with Apple.` Also, he said that the company has to `deal with the App Store policies and review process like anybody else.`
Despite Apple rules and policies, Patreon membership was in a gray area. Some of their subscription-based offerings could be used in their app, while others couldn’t. Another reason for the Patreon exception was that many users didn’t come to the company to discover creators and content. Patreon isn’t happy with the recent press from Apple to now follow their policies.
`Over the past few years, we’ve slowly rolled it out, tackling each hurdle that has come up to ensure that the migration is not disruptive for creators. That’s the way we like to roll out products. Unfortunately, because of Apple’s timelines and constraints, we can’t continue to do it this way. Instead of helping creators move to subscription billing if and when they feel like it’s right for them, we’re now forced to migrate all creators on Apple’s timeline.` said Patreon in the blog post.
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