Earlier this year, Apple began allowing “reader” apps to provide customers with external links to bypass the App Store to log in and pay for subscriptions. Now, video streaming giant Netflix has also rolled out an option for its iOS client to direct users to the official website and complete a Netflix subscription.
As noted by multiple users and confirmed by 9to5Mac, the Netflix app has now enabled the new iOS API for Reader, bypassing App Store subscriptions and redirecting to “external” sites.
Although there is no official introduction to this button, Netflix seems to have begun to push it to iPhone / iPad users worldwide.
- When clicking the ‘Subscribe’ button, the software will pop up a prompt of ‘Leaving the App and visiting an external website’.
- In addition, App pointed out that the deal will not be regulated by Apple, because all subscription management is done on the Netflix platform.
In other words, any account purchases outside the iOS app are directly related to Netflix. Payment methods associated with a user’s App Store account, as well as Apple’s related features such as subscription management and refund requests, will also no longer be available. And Apple is not responsible for the transactions, privacy or security of third-party software developers.
- Continue to click the button and the user will be directed to the official Netflix website.
- Enter personal data, choose a Netflix plan, and choose a payment method.
The move will cut Netflix’s subscription commissions in half to just 15% from the previous 30%. It is reported that the “reader” identified by Apple covers newspapers, magazines, books, audio, and applications with digital content such as music and video as the main function.
But even without this update, Netflix has long since dropped the in-app subscription option. In 2018, the company removed the ability for users to purchase subscriptions directly from the official iPhone/iPad app in a new version of the iOS client.
Unsurprisingly, Apple is also trying to block Netflix from redirecting iOS customers to subscription options on the company’s website via Safari. The good news is that with the recent antitrust investigation, Apple is finally allowing certain types of apps to offer alternative subscriptions outside of the App Store, thereby bypassing the hefty cut.
And recently Apple was forced to allow App Store apps to offer third-party payment options in markets like the Netherlands and South Korea.
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