Hulu has removed the ability to sign up for new accounts and free trials from its Android app. The move comes as Google has begun forcing third-party apps to switch to their Play Billing system for in-app purchases. If an app does not want to use the Play Billing system, it must remove its own billing system. For Hulu, using Play Billing means sharing a revenue reduction (up to 15%) with Google every time a new user signs up or renews their subscription. To avoid this, Hulu has now paused new sign-ups and free trial periods via its Android app.
The latest update to Hulu for Android and the Hulu app for Android TV have removed the ability to sign up for a new account or a free trial. Prior to this change, Hulu showed “Plans from $ 5.99 / month” and a “Start a free trial” button when you first launched the app. Now it only shows the login setting along with the following message:
Are you trying to sign up for Hulu?
Sorry, we can not make registrations in the app. If you are already a subscriber, log in below to start viewing.
Although Hulu has not officially revealed the rationale for this move, it is likely prompted by Google’s recent push to enforce its own billing system. Google’s new Play Billing policy came into effect on April 31, 2022. Since then, we’ve seen many apps make changes to comply with the updated payment rules. Last month, Barnes and Noble and Audible both removed the option to purchase new books from their respective Android apps.
If you already subscribe to Hulu, you can continue to enjoy the service without any interruption via the Android app. For now, new users who want to try the service should go to the Hulus website or use the iOS app to create a new account.
In March, Google announced a new “User Choice Billing” application that allows select app developers to keep or add their own billing system as long as they offer the Play billing system as an option. Currently, Spotify is the only confirmed partner in the User Choice Billing program. It will be interesting to see if Google will allow Hulu, Audible and Barnes & Nobles to take advantage of the new program.
Source: 9to5Google