Disney Plus and Hulu will no longer allow you to sign up with Apple

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 with Apple, as reported MacRumors.

I don’t currently pay 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 with the message: “Unfortunately, this app does not support in-app registration. Complete setting up your account on the website. Create and manage your account at disneyplus.com/next.” The Hulu iOS app also pushes you to the Hulu website if you try to sign in without an active subscription.

Presumably, the company made this change to stop Apple from taking new fees for Disney Plus and Hulu subscriptions. However, if you’ve already signed up for those services through Apple, Disney says you’ll still be billed through Apple.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disney is just the latest company to stop new subscriptions for its iOS apps. Netflix stopped allowing users to subscribe to its iOS app in 2018 and Apple stopped charging subscribers in the beginning of this year. Spotify also doesn’t allow people to sign up through the iOS app — in the app, it includes a misleading message that says “we know, it’s wrong.”