Netflix has reportedly begun directing users on iPhones and iPad to an external webpage where they can sign up for assistance.
The shift comes just months after Apple let “reader” apps that deliver access to digital content, like Netflix and Spotify, merge to account signup pages on their websites.
For 2018, Netflix didn’t deliver an external signup link or tell users where they could sign up in its iPhone and iPad apps. Instead, users had to navigate to Netflix’s site from their web or mobile browser to sign up for assistance before accessing the app.
It was done to yield with Apple’s rules, which made it challenging for apps to get around its up to 30 % commission on in-app purchases and barred developers from offering a link to an external signup page.
In addition, the setup made it confusing for new users who would (logically) think they would be able to sign up for Netflix by employing the app.
But nowadays, it looks like that’s transforming — 9to5Mac reports that iPhone and iPad users are witnessing an external link within the Netflix app that they can utilize to sign up for the service. Users who click the link see a message that alerts them they’re “about to leave the app” and drive to an external website. It also records any transactions on the external page that aren’t affiliated with Apple:
Any accounts or buys made outside this app will be managed by the developer “Netflix.” Therefore, your App Store account, stored payment methods, and related features, like subscription management and refund appeals will not be available. Apple is not accountable for the privacy or security of transactions created with this developer.
Tapping through the warning redirects users to an account signup page on Netflix’s website, where they can input payment details and select a subscription plan. It’s unclear when Netflix began introducing this new possibility, and the company didn’t immediately respond for comment. Currently, Netflix’s support page still says that users can’t access Netflix’s registration page from its iPhone or iPad app.
Although Apple has started to relax its policies for reader apps, it still has strict guidelines that developers must follow, like not including any pricing information with a link to external signup pages. Developers must also offer an “entitlement” to get permission to count the external link to their app.
Apple has faced objection over its policies that force most developers to use the App Store billing system, which Apple charges a commission to use. However, in response to a new law passed in South Korea, Apple started allowing developers to use third-party payment processors in apps released in the country.
It has also made some changes to dating apps released in the Netherlands following a lengthy battle with the country’s regulator.
But Apple will have even more adjusting to do when the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) legislation passes, as it would force Apple to allow the use of third-party payment systems, side-loading, and third-party app stores. Google has already started preparing for the new laws by enabling developers to use an alternative billing system for apps distributed in Europe.
Netflix has secure captioning, subtitles for deaf and hard of hearing (SDH), and audio descriptions (AD). These are practical tools designed to make films and television shows more accessible to people with disabilities.
But those kinds of features have also become integral parts of how people from all walks of life consume the streaming platform’s content, and Netflix is planning to give its subscribers more of what they want.
In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Netflix is gearing up to expand its accessibility features across the globe and launching a new collection highlighting stories focused on people living with disabilities.
Celebrating Disability with Dimension will function much like the platform’s other special collections that pull from Netflix’s catalog of existing content to promote their visibility as users browse the service. In addition to the new pack, Netflix is also beefing up its AD and SDH offerings in more languages, including Korean, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. People’s ability to use AD and SDH have depended on whether the networks airing content took the initiative to provide the features in multiple languages.
So, while shows produced in France like Lupin might have those features obtainable in French, for instance, English speakers expecting to watch the series with English AD or SDH would only be capable of doing so if that accessibility was prioritized by the platform airing it.