Patreon v. iOS App (Patreon)

Hey everyone! Earlier this week Patreon made an announcement that starting in November 2024, NEW memberships that are paid through the iOS app on Apple devices will be subject to the fee that people like to call the "Apple Tax" which is 30%. Apple has kind of been forcing this on a ton of companies over the past few years and now it's Patreon's turn. This 30% already applies to Patreon Shop purchases made through the iOS app and now memberships are up next. You can read all about this here.

The 30% does not apply to new memberships when:

You are on an iOS device, but you sign up directly on Patreon's website (in Safari, Chrome, etc.)

You are on an Android device and sign up through the Patreon for Android app

You are on a computer/laptop and sign up directly on Patreon's website

❗ Current members, even if you signed up through the iOS app, are not affected. However if you cancel your membership here and come back after Nov 2024, then the 30% fee in the iOS app would apply at that time.

Unfortunately, Patreon creators are only given two options for managing this 30% fee:

We pay it ourselves, and it goes with our other fees (the Patreon platform fees and payment processing fees)

We pass it to the customer, so they will see a higher price for memberships and Shop items through the iOS app (but not anywhere else)

📢 I want to make it clear that I have chosen the "pass it to the customer" option, which means that I strongly encourage EVERYONE (whether you're a current member who may cancel and return later or if you're considering becoming a paid member at some point) to avoid using the iOS app to support me. Please open Patreon on a web browser instead. ⭐

I remember when Apple pushed this on Twitch a while ago and myself and other streamers were encouraging our viewers to avoid making purchases through the iOS Twitch app and to do it through the browser, because Twitch elected to pass the 30% directly to the consumers. While Patreon is giving creators a choice, I would be very surprised if creators choose to pay it themselves.

It's an absurd and unreasonable cash grab by Apple, plain and simple.

I know there are some companies that have tried in the past or are currently trying to fight this. Spotify, Epic Games, Fanhouse. I also know that there is an ongoing legal battle with Apple's policies out of the EU. Fingers crossed that maybe one day Apple can be forced to stop trying to strong-arm other companies into this BS.

The following information does not apply to my page and my memberships, but this may apply to those of you who are pledged to other reactors, so I wanted to make note of it.

Apple is not allowing Patreon to offer all of their billing models through their iOS app moving forward while continuing to have an iOS app. Patreon has thus made the decision to convert all creators to their subscription billing model. This is the model where you pay monthly on the day you sign up (and I have had this enabled on this page for almost 2 years now).

There are many reactors on Patreon who are still on the first-of-the-month billing model who will be forced to switch. They can do this right away, but they also have the option to delay switching until Nov 2025. Current members are unaffected and will continue paying on the first as long as their membership is active without cancellation.

I know this was a lot of info and Patreon has pushed out a lot of info about this as it is truly affecting every creator on the platform. What bothers me (and others) is that we can't see any data on what devices our members are using to access our content currently.

TL;DR: Apple sucks. Don't pay for anything through iOS apps.

Let me know if you have any questions and I'm happy to respond!

✦ KL