Patreon creators should switch to paid subscriptions in November, thanks to Apple

Patreon creators will need to make changes soon, thanks to Apple. On Wednesday, Patreon said that Apple has renewed its demand that all Patreon creators must move to paid subscriptions. The deadline to do so is 1 November 2026.

The post on Patreon’s blog announcing the change made it clear that it had no choice. “We strongly disagree with this decision,” the company wrote. “Creators need consistency and clarity to build healthy, long-term businesses. Instead, creators using the legacy fee will now have to endure yet another policy reversal — the third such change from Apple in the past 18 months.”

Until now, Patreon’s payment model has operated in a gray area, allowing its creators to charge fans outside the App Store without paying Apple fees. This was because some of the content that people paid for could be consumed in-app, while others could not.

But now Apple has reinstated its registration authority, removing the gray area. “We know that Apple is committed to enforcing this mandate,” Patreon wrote. “Late last year, they blocked an update to the Patreon app and made it clear that in order to stay in the App Store, we had to comply with their payment requirement. Because millions of fans use iOS as their primary way to access Patreon and connect with creators, having our app blocked – or not even available in the App Store – is not an option.”

Patreon’s description of “whiplash” is not hyperbole. Apple first announced the mandate in 2024. At the time, the deadline for all Patreon creators to make the change was set for November 2025 — one that Patreon reluctantly accepted. But according to the company, Apple told it last May that the original 2025 deadline was gone. Now, it seems to have reversed that again.

If there is a silver lining, TechCrunch notes that only 4 percent of Patreon creators use affected (legacy) payment models. And fans can still skip Apple payments on iOS by joining through their iPhone’s web browser. Patreon has a lot more creator details in its announcement post.

As for Apple, this well-known role of “The Big, Bad Taxpayer of the App Store” pales in comparison to some of its recent titles. First, there was its removal of the ICEBlock app (and one that logged ICE arrest records) in October. At least in terms of the app section the company says “Privacy is a human right”. I won’t delete. Grok, X and (reportedly) a number of other apps now allow iPhone owners to “digitally undress” real people, including children. 28 groups appealed and asked the company to remove them, but to no avail.

Above all, Tim Cook decided that Saturday – the day Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents – would be a good time to attend the screening. Melania at the White House. He even took a selfie with accused rapist Brett Ratner, who is the director of the film.