Apple has effectively stopped taking money from users in Russia, and it’s not just a minor tweak buried in the fine print. As of April 1, people in the country can no longer pay for new apps, in‑app purchases, or subscription renewals across the App Store and Apple’s main services — unless they already have some cash sitting in their Apple account balance.

In a support document, Apple says payment processing is now disabled for purchases on the App Store and other Apple media services in Russia. That single move hits pretty much everything: Apple Music, Apple TV and iTunes Store content, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple Podcasts subscriptions, Apple One bundles, iCloud+ plans, and even ringtone purchases. If you already topped up your Apple Account (formerly Apple ID) balance earlier, you can keep spending that money and redeem existing App Store or gift codes, but once that runs out, you’re done.

Crucially, Apple isn’t cutting people off from what they’ve already bought. Previously purchased apps and media remain accessible, and Apple is explicitly assuring users that their iCloud data will stay available even after a paid iCloud+ subscription lapses, so photos and backups are not suddenly vanishing. This is Apple trying to draw a line between blocking new revenue and protecting existing user data.

What’s driving this now is a mix of Russian government pressure and the country’s broader information crackdown. Russian regulators ordered mobile carriers to shut off the ability to top up Apple Account balances via phone bills — the last major workaround after bank card payments were restricted — specifically to make it harder for people to pay for VPN apps and to push Apple to restore certain Russian services that were removed under Western sanctions. Local media and tech outlets describe it as Moscow closing a “loophole” that still lets users quietly fund their Apple accounts despite financial restrictions tied to the war in Ukraine.

For Russians on iPhone, the result is a much more closed ecosystem overnight. You can keep using your device, your existing apps, and your cloud storage, but any kind of upgrade, new subscription, or fresh content now runs into a hard wall unless you already stacked up balance. It’s also another reminder that big tech platforms sit directly in the crossfire of geopolitics: Apple is simultaneously enforcing Western sanctions, responding to government diktats in Russia, and still trying to claim it’s keeping critical services available for ordinary users.