Patreon has warned several thousand creators who use its service that from November, all in-app purchases made on the Patreon iOS app would be subject to Apple’s hefty 30 per cent cut.

It added that while the changes don’t apply to the creator’s existing customers, it will apply to new members.

To counter that, it has offered creators using the platform two options: Either they can use a default, but optional, tool that automatically increases their prices — only in the iOS app — to offset the cost of Apple’s fee, so that they can earn at least the same amount per membership as they do on other platforms.

The second option, and probably the less desirable one for them, would be for the creators to maintain their existing price structure and still pay the 30 per cent fee from their earnings.

There is a third option, and one that Patreon isn’t actively promoting, perhaps not to upset Apple, but has hinted at in a statement on its website where it said, “Obviously, neither of these solutions is ideal,” it said while referring to the two options explained above. “But remember, Apple’s fees are only in the iOS app. Your prices on the web and the Android app will remain completely unaffected. You can always send your fans to this Help Center article which explains the iOS in-app fees relative to other platforms, so they can better understand the implications of where they choose to make their purchases.”

App store

Hence, creators could recommend that their users make any transactions on Patreon’s website, rather than the iOS app. That way creators, and Patreon, wouldn’t lose money to Apple. Apps such as Substack and Netflix already operate a similar model where subscriptions handled off-app still allow users to access their subscriptions inside the iOS app.

How Patreon has managed to circumvent Apple’s 30 per cent cut rule thus far isn’t clear. But that arrangement will now come to an end this November.

Apple is being forced to make amendments to its App Store rules in certain markets such as the EU which is using its new Digital Markets Act to rein in apparently monopolistic or unfair practices by Big Tech that trample competitors.

According to Apple’s new position in the EU for its App Store, Apple said developers will be able to communicate and promote offers that are available anywhere, not just on their own website, from within their app. Apple will however introduce two new fees – an initial 5 per cent acquisition fee for new users and a 10 per cent store services fee for any sales made by app users on any platform within the 12 months of the app installation. At present, Apple charges three types of fees: a core technology fee for less than 1 per cent of apps, a reduced commission for all digital goods and services sold through the App Store, and an optional fee for the payments and commerce services. The two new fees will replace the reduced commission for all digital goods and services sold through the App Store.