Apple says Patreon creators must switch to subscription billing by November

"Patreon will force creators to move away from legacy billing methods this fall to appease Apple's newly revived subscriptions mandate. The migration will impact four percent of Patreon creators who still use first-of-the-month and per creation billing models, with Apple imposing a deadline to switch to subscription billing by November 1st, 2026. On its support page, Patreon says it will "automatically transition" any creators who have not manually switched by this date."

"In 2024, Apple initially told Patreon to move its creators to the App Store's in-app purchase system - allowing Apple's 30 percent commission to be applied to purchases and renewals - by November 2025, or "risk being kicked out of the App Store." Patreon announced in May that the deadline was no longer in effect because Apple had approved an update to provide iOS users in the US with alternative checkout options following the Epic Games v. Apple ruling, which blocks Apple from imposing fees on purchases made outside of apps."

""We strongly disagree with this decision," Patreon said in the announcement blog. "Creators need consistency and clarity in order to build healthy, long-term businesses. Instead, creators using legacy billing will now have to endure the whiplash of another policy reversal - the third such change from Apple in the past 18 months.""

Patreon will move creators off legacy billing methods this fall because Apple revived a subscriptions mandate. The change affects roughly four percent of creators who use first-of-the-month and per-creation billing models. Apple set a deadline requiring a switch to subscription billing by November 1, 2026, and Patreon will automatically transition creators who do not switch manually. Apple previously demanded in-app purchases with a 30 percent commission and later relaxed that rule, but has now reinstated a deadline. iOS users can still join via mobile web to avoid App Store fees, while subscription billing supports Apple in-app purchases and includes those fees.

Read at The Verge