Apple has warned creator platform Patreon that it risks being removed from the App Store if it continues to use unsupported third-party billing options or disables transactions on iOS. Instead, Apple insists Patreon must adopt its in-app purchasing system for subscriptions. Patreon has begun a 16-month migration process to comply with this demand, aiming to transition all creators to Apple’s iOS in-app purchase system by November 2025.
In a blog post and email to its creators, Patreon explained that it will switch to subscription billing by November 2024. Creators will then need to decide whether to raise membership fees to cover Apple’s commission or absorb the cost themselves. Additionally, creators can delay the migration until November 2025, but they will be unable to offer memberships in the iOS app until they comply with Apple’s in-app purchase rules, effective from this November.
This development highlights the ongoing debate about Apple’s App Store policies, which have faced criticism for being inconsistently applied. One notable critic was Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, which sued Apple over antitrust issues. Although Epic mostly lost the lawsuit, the court ruled that Apple must allow links to other payment options within apps. Consequently, Apple now permits developers to promote their subscriptions via website links, with a reduced commission of 27% instead of the standard 30%, or 12% instead of 15% for auto-renewing subscriptions in the second year. However, Apple’s compliance with this court ruling is still being contested in court.
Patreon has operated in a unique gray area, with some subscription-based offerings available in its app and others not. This exception may have been due to the fact that users typically discover Patreon content through other channels, rather than the app itself, as explained by Patreon CEO Jack Conte in a 2021 interview. Despite not having a special contract with Apple to avoid App Store fees, Patreon managed to bypass Apple’s in-app billing requirements for some time.
Patreon expressed dissatisfaction with Apple’s pressure to comply with its policies, noting that neither of the options—raising subscription prices or absorbing the cost—is ideal. “Most creators on Patreon use subscription billing,” stated Patreon’s blog post. “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.”
Patreon reminded creators that Apple’s fees only apply to the iOS app, allowing them to continue offering the same prices on the web and Android. The company also advised creators to direct their fans to a Help Center article explaining iOS fees, so subscribers can better understand the implications of where they choose to make their purchases.
