Regarding Patreon's recent announcement for it's iOS app...

Hi all! This is a quick post for me to discuss the recent news surrounding the price increase that is incoming for Patreons who subscribe to content creators using Patreon's iOS app (i.e. from the App Store).

I want to stress that this PSA is solely for anyone who is supporting me via Patreon's iOS app and does not apply to anyone who is supporting me via webpage or Android.

Context: https://news.patreon.com/articles/understanding-apple-requirements-for-patreon

Summary

Long story short, Apple is requiring Patreon to remove all of its billing options and requiring the app to use Apple's own in-app purchasing system (which includes a 30% Apple Store fee) for new subscriptions starting November 2024.

According to the link above, this does not impact existing members and only applies to new Patreon memberships starting November 2024.

My thoughts on this change

While the link above does state that existing members will not be affected, I am not holding my breath, as Patreon has broken a few promises in the past regarding policies that they said would not be altered.

In essence, Apple wants 30% of the cut of any membership purchased through Patreon's iOS app without any effort on their part, and I think it goes without saying what I think about their strategy, so I will not go any deeper in this regard.

Patreon has offered two choices with this upcoming change, which is either increasing membership prices to offset Apple's cut or having the creator absorb the fee.

My choice

I decided to do the former, which is increasing the fee to offset Apple's cut. This is for the simple reason that Cara in Creekmaw is no longer something I do on the side, it's my full-time commitment, and it makes little sense for me to absorb the fee with little to no upside.

This is a lose-lose situation for creators and fans, and I must stress that I take no joy or pride in increasing the price of subscriptions for iOS users.

What I strongly suggest

If you are currently subscribed to me via Patreon's iOS app, I highly recommend you switch to a webpage (i.e. via PC) subscription whenever possible. This will circumvent Apple's fee entirely and retain the original subscription tier costs.

If you plan to support me somewhere in the future or plan to re-subscribe (i.e. when releases come out), I would highly recommend doing so via webpage as well.

Summary

I'm thankful for everyone's support (be it on iOS or not) and with that said, I will conclude this post and get back to development!

Stay safe and healthy!