Apple just handed Patreon another ultimatum. The iPhone maker is now requiring the creator platform to transition all remaining creators to Apple's in-app purchase system by November 1, 2026 - marking the third policy shift in 18 months. While only 4% of Patreon's creators still use legacy billing models, the company isn't holding back its frustration with Apple's constantly shifting rules, arguing the tech giant's inconsistency makes it nearly impossible for creators to build sustainable businesses.
Apple is tightening the screws on Patreon, and the creator platform isn't happy about it. The company just announced that Apple has imposed a hard November 1, 2026 deadline for transitioning all creators to Apple's in-app purchase system - a mandate that's creating serious friction in the creator economy.
The latest development caps off a whiplash-inducing series of policy changes that began back in 2024. That's when Apple first told Patreon it needed to move all its creators to subscription billing using Apple's in-app purchase system by November 2025, or face removal from the App Store. Apple's reasoning was straightforward - Patreon was managing billing for some creators' subscriptions, which Apple viewed as circumventing its App Store commission structure.
But here's where things get messy. Patreon initially planned to switch creators to subscription billing in November 2024, giving creators the option to increase prices to offset Apple's fees or delay the transition until November 2025. Then last May, everything changed. Patreon took advantage of newly loosened App Store guidelines - a direct result of the Epic v. Apple court ruling - to let creators process web payments through links in the app. At that point, Patreon told creators the November 2025 deadline no longer applied.
