Netflix is the most popular streaming service. So if you're reading this, chances are good that you have it. But if you're paying for a subscription through Apple, you've just received an unexpected and serious downgrade.

Because Netflix no longer allows you to pay for your Netflix subscription through Apple. Specifically, you will no longer be able to pay for Netflix through your iTunes subscription.

This development was first reported by the Cord Cutter News as Netflix customers began claiming that Netflix no longer allowed payments through their iTunes accounts.

However, this is not just a rumor; when reached for comment by The Verge, Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou said that "members who were using the iTunes payment method for their basic plan" will now have to pay directly through Netflix They later said that this would be the case for U.S. and Canadian users. They later clarified that this includes users in the U.S. and Canada.

If you are someone who has been paying for a subscription to the streaming service through an iTunes subscription, this is definitely an unexpected downgrade. Especially if, as one frustrated customer reported, your bill has increased from $9.99 to $31.

However, if you are reading this, you are likely unaffected by this latest update to the way Netflix processes payments.

The reason this change happens is because of the "Apple Tax," or the 30% cut Apple takes from all App Store transactions. Because of this tax, Netflix already stopped offering subscriptions through Apple in 2018, forcing new customers to sign up and pay directly to Netflix. Therefore, this downgrade does not apply to customers who signed up after that time.

However, Netflix appears to have fully paid the Apple tax and is removing the last vestiges of the in-app subscription method that was available on the iPhone for over a decade. Those who subscribe to Netflix through Apple need to check their accounts now before they get hit badly with an unexpected bill.