Threatening To Remove App Store, Apple Forces Patreon To Use In-App Purchase System

The creator subscription package in Patreon will be upgraded (photo: dock. Patreon)

JAKARTA For years, Patreon has not been subject to a 30 percent cut in the App Store for not using the in-app purchasing system. However, this will change in the near future. The paid creator platform announced that Apple has forced them to switch to the payment system within the app. This system must be implemented from November this year. If not done, Patreon will be removed from the App Store. "Apple requires Patreon to use the purchasing system in their application and remove all other billing systems from the iOS Patreon application no later than November 2024," Patreon said via its official website. Highly forced, Patreon must comply with this rule and users will be also affected. There are two changes that will occur, first on subscription fees and second on billing package changes for creators. The 30 percent App Store fee will be charged to creators so they are advised to increase the cost of membership packages. The creators do not need to manually calculate because there is a tool to raise prices automatically.

If creators want to keep the price of the same subscription package, 30 percent App Store costs will be deducted from their earnings. Patreon stressed that this cost burden only applies to transactions on iOS and that income on other devices will remain the same. "We want to clarify one thing, Apple costs won't affect existing members. This fee will only affect the new membership purchased in the iOS app from November onwards," explains Patreon. Another change is the early-month billing package. All creators have to switch to subscription billing in order to keep earning from the iOS app. "That's the only kind of billing supported by the purchasing system in Apple app."