Netflix iOS users can no longer sign up for app via Apple App Store

New users can no longer sign up for Netflix via Apple’s iTunes.

Netflix makes a big change for its iOS users (AP)

Netflix has barred new iOS users from subscribing to the platform via Apple's iTunes. Instead new users will be asked to sign up via the web.

VentureBeat reports that existing members who signed up via iTunes can continue to use Apple's platform as a method of payment. Customers who are rejoining Netflix on an iOS device (after cancelling payment for at least a month) will also need to pay via the web (browser).

Netflix has already barred Android users from making the payment for the app via Google's Play store, the website added.

The streaming platform had been testing this model for quite some time. According to a TechCrunch report in August this year, Netflix was spotted "testing the iTunes payment method" in about 33 countries. The method seems like was aimed at bypassing Apple's ecosystem altogether. The test was first spotted by Gadgets360. 

@Netflixhelps why I can't purchase subscription by iTunes??

— Abdulrhman 🐥 (@IDa7mz) August 2, 2018

Netflix has joined a growing list of companies who have been finding ways to bypass Apple's cut on in-app purchases. Apple takes about 30% cut from developers. Apple's share does drop to 15% after customer makes recurring payment for at least one year. Developers have been unhappy with Apple's monopoly on app subscriptions.

Google has also drawn flak over its app tax policy. Just recently Epic Games chose to skip Google's Play Store for the launch of its viral Fortnite game. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeny had then blamed the "economics of the store ecosystem" for the decision to skip Google's App Store.

"There's typically a 30/70 split, and from the 70%, the developer pays all the costs of developing the game, operating it, marketing it, acquiring users and everything else. For most developers that eats up the majority of their revenue. We're trying to make our software available to users in as economically efficient a way as possible. That means distributing the software directly to them, taking payment through Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, and other options, and not having a store take 30%," he had said.