Hulu and Disney+ No Longer Support Signups and Payment Using App Store

Disney is no longer allowing its customers to sign up for and purchase subscriptions to Hulu or Disney+ through Apple's App Store, cutting out any subscription fees that Disney would have needed to pay to Apple for using in-app purchase.

The change was noted on Reddit over the weekend, and there are details on the Disney+ and Hulu websites. Both the Disney+ and Hulu websites say that new and returning subscribers cannot sign up for and pay through Apple, but existing Apple-billed subscribers are not affected.

Hulu and Disney+ customers can still watch content on Apple devices by signing into their Hulu and Disney+ accounts in the iOS apps. Disney directs customers to its websites in order to see all plans and sign up for a subscription directly.

For digital purchases like subscription services, Apple collects a 15 to 30 percent fee from each transaction. By removing the option to sign up for streaming services using the in-app purchase system, Disney will not have to pay a fee to Apple.

Disney joins other streaming apps like Netflix that have not offered support for purchasing a subscription in an iOS app for years.