Evan Dorkin

FYI: Don't use the iOS App To Sign Up On Patreon

Added 2025-04-10 01:27:10 +0000 UTC

Apologies for not mentioning this earlier, but for those of you considering joining my Patreon, or any Patreon -- don't sign up through the iOS app! Apple takes a 30% cut now. Which is grotesque behavior. Apparently this kicked in last November.

From the Patreon PR:

Apple will be applying their 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased in the Patreon iOS app, in addition to anything bought in your Patreon shop.
Any creator currently on first-of-the-month or per-creation billing plans will have to switch over to subscription billing to continue earning in the iOS app, because that’s the only billing type Apple’s in-app purchase system supports.
Before we go any further, we want to be crystal clear about one thing: Apple’s fee will not impact your existing members. It will only affect new memberships purchased in the iOS app from November onward.

The PR release: https://news.patreon.com/articles/understanding-apple-requirements-for-patreon

I don't even know what some of this rigmarole means. But this is obviously a crappy cash-grab that hurts everyone but the jackasses at Apple. So, avoid that app. Sign up any other way. I don't remember how I backed the two Patreons I support -- The Good Friends of Jackson Elias (a podcast about Call of Cthulhu, horror movies and horror gaming in general) and Into the Darkness (a live Call of Cthulhu play group) -- but I must have done it easily enough because I'm confused by everything. I'm still fucking up the videos I try to send to my computer from my phone. Anyway, avoid the Apple app.