We are integration IAP in our iOS11 app and want to give new users some start offerings with a long free trial period.
My implementation alternatives are:
Use auto-renewable subscription with a generous free trial (like 2 months for monthly subscription), and rely on Apple that a user that cancels can't restart and get 2 months again. Is this correct?
or
Make two IAPs, present the one with free trial to new users and present the one without free trails to a user that has canceled or stopped the free trail version. But users might find the IAP on App store (specially now when Apple will start feature IAP) and buy it anyway?
What is the best thing to do?
I'm managing an application with InApp Purchase and auto-renewable subscription.
As far as I know, InApp Purchase is linked to user AppStore account, and free trial can be consume only once per account.
If you present the same product after a free trial period, the user will resume your auto-renewable subscription and not benefit the free trial again.
So in my mind the first option is the best.
However if you would like to implement the second one, you should know that the new IAP management feature in your product store page allow you to show and hide the subscriptions you want.
For more information about this new feature, take a look at the WWDC video : What's New in StoreKit
Related
in-app-purchase using Non-consumable how to add add free trial period, do I have to make the price 0? there is no documentation how to make free trial for Non-consumable option.
I was thinking that configuring the price in apple developer account in-app-purchase and from device enable all options for 2 weeks then ask for the payment, do you think this can work with guideline?
Just another question, I added the price, but when user start to download it doesn't ask to pay before downloading right? I have to implement a button with storkit to ask a payment inside my app when free trial finish.
Introductory offers such as free trials are not available for non-consumables products. Only auto-renewable subscriptions can have introductory offers. More info here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/original_api_for_in-app_purchase/subscriptions_and_offers/implementing_introductory_offers_in_your_app
This is not true (or at least isn’t true anymore). Quoting from Apple’s “App Store Review Guidelines”
“
Non-subscription apps may offer a free time-based trial period before presenting a full unlock option by setting up a Non-Consumable IAP item at Price Tier 0 that follows the naming convention: “XX-day Trial.” Prior to the start of the trial, your app must clearly identify its duration, the content or services that will no longer be accessible when the trial ends, and any downstream charges the user would need to pay for full functionality.
The full text is available here: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#in-app-purchase
I want to offer a free trial and the option to BUY (Non-Consumable In-App Purchase) on my ios app. I can see that I can offer a trial and then SUBSCRIBE (Auto-Renewable Subscription), but I personally don't like having to pay over and over for a simple app, but I do want to try it first. Is there a way to achieve the same thing when setting the option to buy? I realize I could track the first usage after download, but this presents a couple of issues:
Will Apple now approve apps for a trial period - previously they have been rejected, but that was before IAP and subscribe was available at all!
How do I prevent the user deleting the app (and any data I might store to know they have activated a trial) and then downloading again?
Or do I have to succumb to the pernicious "subscribe" model or release a "light" version with an upgrade? The last time I went "light", Apple insisted I make so much functionality available, I may well have not bothered with the full version - but that was a while ago.
Apple now allows you to add a free trial for Non-Subscription apps. It's a 0 price plan for fixed days. After this trial expires, you can show the non-subscription plan for purchase. The downside is user need to do a purchase again after trials end. But offering a free trial is a good user experience.
Non-subscription apps may offer a free time-based trial period before
presenting a full unlock option by setting up a Non-Consumable IAP
item at Price Tier 0 that follows the naming convention: "14-day
Trial." Prior to the start of the trial, your app must clearly
identify its duration, the content or services that will no longer be
accessible when the trial ends, and any downstream charges the user
would need to pay for full functionality.
Dont prevent the user from deleting the app. Just store the data online when user hits the trial button, you can store a flag in the web services which can be zero or one based on the user.
One way you could do this if you only care about iOS 11 is using the new DeviceCheck API. It's pretty limited in functionality (it lets you track 2 bits, or 4 cases, total) but should persist between install.
I am having a programmer code my iOS app, which he has done great. However, due to a new competitor we have decided to change from our current revenue model with In-App Purchases as subscription based to just having users pay a one-time fee. He tells me it'll take a lot of hours to make that change. Is it really true that there is no easy way around changing the code from having renewable purchases to simply have one-time purchases?
Well, this is a very objective question. It's impossible to tell you with any certainty without reviewing the actual code, but here are a few of the obstacles your developer may face:
The methods to buy a subscription is slightly different to buying a non-consumable product, however the app will need to continue to provide content users who are currently paying for a subscription. There is no way to change a subscription to a non-consumable product in iTunes Connect, and you may need to, or should ask and remind the user to cancel their subscription to prevent further renewals (you can't do this yourself or in the app, you can only link to the subscriptions page in their iTunes settings).
The app will need to check for either the subscription product (active or expired) or the non-consumable product has been purchased in order to provide the content. Support for this will need to be on the start of the app, purchase of a product and on the restore in-app purchases function.
There may be further complexities too, particularly if your app uses a backend API that syncs purchase information with a user account.
In conclusion, it's non-trivial, if your developer says it will take a lot of hours, I would be inclined to believe him.
I am planing to publish an iOS app. App should be Free for first 1 month from installation in the Device. Once the 1 month period is over , user has to subscribe to use the application every month by paying some X amount.
1) Will apple allows such applications ?
2) If allows, how to achieve this kind of Payments ?
3) How to prevent user to access the app after 1 month. (Calculation of the Days)?
4) Should i reinstall the app after subscription ?
IAP is supposed to be used to provide additional content and features to an already functional app.
If you render your app useless or without functionality after a month, it will probably be rejected, or banned after approved. I believe you can't have an app that will simply say "Your trial expired.".
In my opinion, you would need to think of a functionality that you can provide to all users, regardless of they paying for it or not, and have the premium or the extra functionality purchased as a In-App Purchase.
Apple does not allow free trials in the app store. If you try to do this, your app will get rejected. Still, there is one category of app where Apple does allow a free trial: apps with auto-renewing subscriptions. These were originally intended for (and only allowed with) Newsstand apps where the subscription is for getting new content such as magazine editions etc.
Apple recently allowed the use of auto-renewing subscriptions in non-Newsstand apps but it's still a very grey area as to what exactly Apple will allow with these. Usually the subscription will have to provide some kind of periodic new content in your app. I agree with those who recommend against using them.
I've got a subscription product for my IOS app; I want to change it to allow a free trial. I've edited the subscription in Itunes Connect to allow a free trial, however when I try to subscribe to the product, I get the standard message about buying a sub, not the free trial message. Is there any specific thing that I need to do to trigger the free trial, or do I need to create a new subscription product from scratch for it to pick up the free trial, instead of editing?
In order for free trails to work, the app needs to be a newsstand app.
Free trails are individually tied to a specific user and any individual user can only get the trial once. After the initial trial, It will ask for money. Try creating a new account and then trying with that account.
Read the Documentation At the following places:
Apple Developer(Requires Login)
StoreKit on iOS - autorenewable subscription - How to know whether it is a free trial or not?