Disney Plus and Hulu won’t let you sign up through Apple anymore

If you want to subscribe to Disney Plus or Hulu on your iPhone, you can’t do that anymore. Support documents for Disney Plus and Hulu now say that new and returning subscribers to those streaming services can’t sign up through Apple, as reported by MacRumors.

I’m not currently paying for Disney Plus, so out of curiosity, I tried logging into my account through the iOS app to see what would happen. After entering my email and password, I was greeted by a message that says: “Unfortunately, this app doesn’t support in-app sign up. Finish setting up your account on the website. Create and manage your account at disneyplus.com/next.” Hulu’s iOS app also pushes you to the Hulu website if you try to log in without an active subscription.

Presumably, the company is making this change to stop Apple from taking a cut of new subscription revenues for Disney Plus and Hulu. However, if you already subscribe to those services through Apple, Disney says you’ll still be billed through Apple.

Disney didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Disney is just the latest company to stop new subscriptions through its iOS apps. Netflix stopped letting users subscribe through its iOS app in 2018 and cut off Apple billing for legacy subscribers earlier this year. Spotify also doesn’t let people subscribe through the iOS app — in the app, it includes the cheeky message that “we know, it’s not ideal.”