Marko Zivkovic
In an attempt to avoid paying Apple's App Store fees, Disney has removed the ability for users to pay for Disney+ or Hulu through the App Store.
By instructing their users to visit a website rather than pay via the App Store, Disney is able to save money and avoid paying Apple a fee. For in-app purchases such as subscriptions, Apple typically charges companies a fee for every transaction made within the app, which can be up to 30% of the payment.
The subscription-related change can be found on the official Disney and Hulu websites. New and returning subscribers cannot pay for their subscriptions through Apple, nor can they sign up for either of the services. Existing Apple-billed subscribers will remain unaffected, however, according to the Disney+ and Hulu websites.
As noted by MacRumors, users will still be able to enjoy their Disney+ and Hulu content on iOS but will need to sign in via the respective apps. For payments, however, users will need to turn to the Disney+ and Hulu websites. From there, it's possible to view all available subscription plans and sign up for a subscription directly.
In-app purchases and their associated App Store fees have often caused much controversy in the past, with companies such as Epic Games going so far as suing Apple. In February of 2024, streaming service Netflix also ended support for in-app payments.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
18 Comments
So this means their subscription fees for consumers are now 30% "lower", :D right ?
Well - that definitely does it for me. Doubling the annual cost, now can't easily subscribe/unsubscribe? No way. Bye Bye, Disney.
This has always been an option. All the lawsuits and screaming. If your business doesn't think there's an advantage of offering in app subscriptions, then do this. Easy. Disney Plus is in trouble anyway so they need every nickel they can sucker out of people.
I booted the mouse from the house a few years ago.
So they want me to give my personal and credit card information to yet another third party?
No thanks.