Currently my is a paid app, now I am planning to make it free with limited functionality, after in-app purchase user can have full functionality. I want to know the people who have purchased previously can directly restore purchase so they don't have to buy again.
Apple doesn't allow to make this automatically. You must do this in your code. For example check your apps version, like version < x.y.z means that it was paid before, version >= x.y.z means this is a new user which should make the in-app-payment to unlock the full version.
No. There is no way to get such things from Apple. But, you can do one things.
If you're having login feature then you can manage same things from date. So, for old registered need to show all features while new users need to show specific features only.
Related
I have an IOS app which is free and it has in app purchase options. But I would like to change it a paid app and cancel all in app purchase options. What will happen to existing downloads?
EDIT: Will they need to pay if they update it?
Absolutely nothing will happen to the existing customers. This will only affect customers going forward. However, should they upgrade, they will also be part of the new customer base that includes the paid and in-app options.
Nothing.
When you change your terms it doesn't affect existing customers.
(that notwithstanding, they won't be able to purchase more of your (potentially important to them) in-app purchase).
Best of luck.
I have an App currently in the App store that I've been adding functionality to. I've never worked with In-App purchases, but from what I have been reading, it looks like the "improvements" offered are code adjustments to add, or unlock features.
For my "improved" version, I actually added an entirely new (additional) VC plus a Master VC to switch between the two (using the storyboard), so it's not just a matter of unlocking code to provide the additional features. Can I still use the In-App purchase to provide access to this version, or would I have to submit it as an entirely new product?
If you are trying to add some kind of "premium" feature that only people who pay X amount will have access to, but are still maintaining a "basic" version of the app for everyone else, then yes, you can create an In App Purchase to do this. Or, if you wanted to, you could create a separate "premium" version of your app. It's really up to you. I wouldn't necessarily say one way is preferred over the other, because I've seen it done both ways.
Even if you wanted to charge for the new features, they are not present in the currently released version of your app, so no matter how you decide to market this, you will have to submit a new version of your app. It can contain an in-app purchase or not, but it will be a new version. It certainly does not have to be a different app; adding functionality, possibly including an in-app purchase, is what a new version is for.
In short: you don't need to add a totally new app in any case unless and until you want one more app to be on app store
Detailed answer: If you are just making changes in the underlying architecture of your app it doesn't make any sense to give it to user as in app purchase( and i guess apple will also reject your in-app products). You should only add in-app purchase if you are adding a new feature or giving the user some bonus stuff.
And as per me you should add new version of the app only if you feel that this is a new app.( for example Badlands and Badlands 2 are similar apps but internally they are different from each other so they uploaded them as badlands 2)
I have Freemium apps in the AppStore. Originally it was Paid but I wanted to see if Freemium versions make any difference in Downloads and Sales. It did make difference - number of downloads increased by 10 times but number of purchases reduced by 2 times. So Freemium modal didn't work for me. I want to change back to Paid.
I do not want to create other versions of the Apps as I have really good reviews on all Apps which I don't want to miss. Can someone please help me if it is possible to convert my Apps to Paid and do not allow people to use full functionality who has already downloaded apps but haven't paid?
I will somehow need to detect they have been using old app and not paid. I can do it by releasing an update that store key in the Keychain but I don't understand hoe would those users be able to pay at all as Apple doesn't charge for the App as it is already downloaded in the past, and they won't be able to use full features as they downloaded freemium app....arghhhhh!!! Not sure if this is even possible but want to hear some of yours thought.
I believe paid upgrades are not possible, you will lose profit and you can't do anything about it unless you are willing to create a new app to replace the old one. The move from paid to fremium is a permanent one, you cannot force existing users to pay after the app is free.
It is possible to move back to Paid, without giving the previous Freemium users the full version.
To do this, you have to:
Know the last version of your app that was Paid
Check the user's purchase receipt (refresh receipt if necessary from Apple)
Know whether the user has made any in-app purchases during the Freemium period (e.g. every time the user upgraded, you added an 'Upgraded' item to their keychain)
Switch to Paid
If you have this information, you go ahead and switch your app back to Paid and:
Check whether they have made any in-app purchases (via e.g. their keychain 'Upgraded' flag). If they have, give them the functionality - easy. If they haven't then go to the next step.
Check the user receipt to see what version/date of the app they first downloaded. If it is during the Paid period, upgrade them to full version. If it is not, and the user has not made an in-app purchase, keep them at Freemium.
Disadvantages
There are 2 disadvantages I can see with this approach:
Any user that downloads the app after Freemium will need access to the Internet for you to confirm their receipt. This means the user might download the full version, then at a later time when they are not connected to the Internet, open the app only to find that they have to Upgrade. Of course once they connect to the Internet and their receipt is validated, they will be upgraded, but in the meantime you might get some bad reviews and angry customers.
Your app will now be a Paid app that has In-App purchases. This may confuse users thinking that if they buy your app, they will have to further upgrade via in-app purchases... and put them off.
Of course the advantage is that your Freemium users will stay freemium :)
I have done this myself, and had no problems with the process.
I have an app in the iTunes store that has full functionality. I attempted to release a Free version which contains half of the functionality, and contains a link to the full version if the user tries to use the other functions.
Apple rejected the app on the basis that rather than having two apps, I ought to have the main app released for free and have the extra functions unlockable using in-app purchasing.
That's fine; I can do this. The only problem is that since I released the full version initially, some people have already paid for and downloaded the full version. When I update this app so that it is free, it will be restricted by default. Those users that have paid for the full version will have lost the functionality they've paid for.
I don't really want to release a second version of the app since I intend on continuing to update the app and managing two release streams would be unwieldy.
Is it possible to somehow offer for free the in-app purchase to those users that have already bought the full version of my app when I update the app to the new (free, in-app supported) version?
Edit: An (unpreferred) alternative would be a way of refunding the purchases to the original buyers, along with a note explaining why. Any ideas how?
What I'd do is add a already paid option within the application itself, and then allow users to enter a license code, or email address depending what you prefer, Which you can automatically issue from their contact details if you have them or ask them to contact you if you don't, which most will as they have paid.
Now as far as the licensing and the verification of these codes you could setup a cheap VPS which verify s the code and only activates with codes that you have entered on the server, meaning you won't fall victim of Keygeners.
Just my 2 cents.
If your app doesn't currently have a username/password registration, I would suggest releasing an update to the paid app that explains to your users on an initial popup view something like:
Thank you for supporting our app. Due to changes in Apple's policies, we will be converting this app into a free app with in-app upgrades. Since you already purchased the full app, you will be awarded all features! Please input an [email_address or username] so that we can provide a painless transition.
If your app has a user login mechanism already in place (username/password), then just store those details and have the user log in later in the "free" app to unlock all of the features.
Obviously, both of these suggestions require a backend for validation, but shouldn't be too difficult to create that.
This is tricky due to section 3.3.3 of the license agreement and Attachment 2. I'm not a lawyer so I'll save my interpretation but, read them.
Another option would be to make the free version a new, different app and leave the original one in the store but unavailable. Then you can still publish updates to it but new users won't see it. Apple would probably allow this considering you are still only presenting one app to new users. The downsides are (1) you have to maintain two versions and (2) you have to start over in terms of reviews etc.
I can't seem to find an answer to this question anywhere, so here goes...
I've developing an iOS app that will have non-consumable in-app purchases (expansion packs). Say I sell a pack that has 10 levels in it, for example, and in a month I want to update that in-app purchase to have 15 levels. The user will NOT have to re-purchase the pack; they would just need to update it.
Three questions:
Is this even possible?
How are users notified of this (or how SHOULD they be notified of this change?)
Does Apple need to review changes like this?
Thanks in advance,
Rick
Clearly yes. It is up to you, to write the code in a way, that your app remembers which updates a user has bought and how these updates are interpreted in your app. The only thing that will stop you from changing an in-app purchase content is when you take functionality or in your case levels, away again. Apple won't allow you to upload a new paid version with less functionality.
I would probably tell the user in the info text you have on the app-store, that they will receive 5 additional levels if they already have the 10 level upgrade.
Apple reviews every change you make to the app when you upload a new version to the app-store. This is true for any feature as it is for updates to in app purchase.
I did something similar to this in my app recently. I was saving a BOOL value in NSUserDefaults that specified if the user had purchased the expansion pack. In my update I simply had the change the code that was given to the user based on whether or not that BOOL value was YES or NO. As long as you designed it correctly you shouldn't have any troubles updating
Yes it's possible. Provided you keep a track of who has bought what pack (ie. keep a bool value as an NSUserDefault), then they will still have access to it (even if you add more stuff/levels to it).
It depends what you mean by notified; they will know if they read the update comments when they install the update. Also you could just choose to alert them when the load the app after the update - your call.
If you're submitting the code Apple will review it. Just think of it like any other update to an app.
Hope this helps!