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You can no longer sign up for Disney+ and Hulu via Apple’s App Store. The streaming platforms now require customers to purchase subscriptions directly from their respective websites.
Existing Apple-billed subscribers don’t have to cancel and resubscribe online, though. According to Disney+ and Hulu’s websites, they will continue to be billed through Apple and can manage their accounts using Apple Subscription settings.
However, if you don’t have an active subscription and try to log in to the Disney+ or Hulu app on your iPhone, you’ll be immediately asked to finish setting up the account in a web browser.
The change was spotted online over the weekend. It means Disney doesn’t have to pay the 30% fee Apple charges for in-app purchases made via its App Store for new subscriptions. Since Disney just hiked its monthly rate for Hulu and Disney+ by $2 a few days ago, the change means even bigger profit margins for the company.
But since Hulu and Disney+ no longer support in-app purchases, Apple is expected to remove them from its Video Partner Program which enables app integration with Siri, AirPlay, Universal Search, and other Apple features.
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Netflix was the first major streaming platform to redirect users away from what’s often dubbed the “Apple tax.” In 2019, Netflix bypassed Apple’s in-app purchase fees by sending users to its website for purchases instead. It also got rid of Apple billing for existing customers earlier this year.
Spotify also doesn’t accept in-app purchases via the iOS App Store in an effort to avoid profit-sharing with Apple. The company has battled Apple over its 30% fee and Spotify’s inability to link out to alternative purchase methods on iOS. Spotify’s CEO has called the fee a form of price inflation. Earlier this year, the EU fined Apple $539 million for preventing music-streaming app competition.
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