Netflix ends in-app subscriptions for new and returning customers on iOS

Netflix has announced that iOS users who are new or returning subscribers of the platform – users that have missed a billing period – will no longer be able to sign up through iTunes for payments to the media platform. Just like it dropped iTunes, Netflix had also stopped the option to pay via Google Play a while ago this year as per Engadget. VentureBeat  reported that the streaming platform has confirmed it will no longer allow “iTunes as a method of payment for new members.” [caption id=“attachment_5402441” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Netflix.[/caption] Those who want to subscribe to Netflix or maintain their subscription will have to pay via the platform’s website. iOS users may have no choice but to begin their subscriptions through a web browser like Chrome or Safari. Netflix began testing the change in a few of its markets back in August, slowly rolling it out to all its markets by November. The report notes that Apple takes a 15 to 30 percent cut from in-app subscriptions, which has been an area of conflict between the tech giant and third-party developers. As mentioned in The Verge, Spotify, the leading subscription music app, has also left Apple’s in-app billing for similar reasons. With iTunes not being the middle agent any longer, Netflix can get all the proceeds from its iOS customers. There also won’t be any sharing of profits with Apple, with the additional money likely a considerable amount seeing how it holds a top spot in iOS’s list of apps with big revenues. The breakup with iTunes might affect smaller apps, but we highly doubt that it would hinder Netflix’s subscription numbers in any way.   2018 has been an eventful year and here’s our comprehensive list of  year ender stories.