While aware of the appstore guidelines, specifically IAP usage.
Our company is developing an app that would offer downloadable content [music, video, etc]
There are several challenges but one of the first is IAP on iOS.
After reading all the docs and questions [on stackoverflow], I am 100% sure we need to implement Apple's APIs to process payments and we cannot use our own.
But there exist several apps currently available on the appstore that offer products without using IAP.
one of the examples is goDaddy application where you can use the iOS app and buy a domain using a CC without IAP.
I would like suggestions if possible on how the above can be accomplished?
Put very briefly:
If the purchased item is to be 'consumed' on the device, such as music, extra levels for a game or whatever then iAP must be used. If the purchased item is not consumed on the device then iAP does not have to used. For example paying a gas bill, buying something on eBay, buying dvds or physical books from amazon; or to use your example a domain name from Go Daddy.
Related
I know that IAPs can be used only to sell "digital" products.
But I want to offer a subscription in the app, that will both have new features available in the app (more photos that can be uploaded) and a discount on a physical book in my bookstore.
Is it considered as a digital and physical product combination, or just a digital product?
Is that possible to do through Apple IAPs?
And if not, can you plz suggest a way to bypass the restriction?
If I switch to credit card subscription (using Stripe to handle it), wouldn't Apple ban my app for trying to sell both digital and physical product?
Thanks.
Also, in the most expensive plan, I want to offer free shipping of books for those who have the top subscription.
Among the questions that I've checked, this one seems close, but does not give an answer.
You cannot sell physical items through Apple's IAP. If your app provides services outside of the app itself, you can use your own payment processing within the app.
For instance, the Fandango app allows the user to purchase movie tickets through their app. Because of this, they are allowed to handle payment processing for buying movie tickets using their own mechanism instead of Apple's IAP.
I would suggest using Apple's IAP for digital purchases and a third party for physical sales.
We sell minutes to call other countries, and we want to allow users to make payments within the app. These minutes have a cost to us from wholesalers. Using in-app purchase will dramatically increase the cost to the user if Apple takes a 30% cut.
1 - "You must deliver a digital good or service within your application. Do not use In-App Purchase to sell real-world goods and services." (Source)
I'm not sure if this applies to me or not. Can anyone shine some light on this?
Only Apple can give you a definitive answer, but the way I would interpret the paragraph quoted below, you have to use IAP for purchasing credits, and you also have to be able to use those credits directly within the app (i.e. make phone calls):
Apps that use IAP to purchase credits or other currencies must consume those credits within the application
Section 11.2 of the App Store Review Guidelines says this:
Apps utilizing a system other than the In-App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an App will be rejected
If the minutes you are selling are consumed by an iOS app (any app, not just the app in which the user buys the minutes), then this rule applies to you.
If you are selling minutes that are added to a calling card that the user physically possesses, then you might be able to bypass Apple's IAP, but you'll have to either submit your app or talk to someone on the review team to be sure.
What you're selling is a digital service - connectivity. Your IAP product is similar to credits in most games in available on the store.
The real-world goods and services they prohibit are things like you'd carry out of a store in a shopping bag, or having somebody carry that shopping bag. They don't allow the sale of tangible things, only electronic. Goods for sale should be transferrable between two different devices.
I don't think you can avoid in-app-purchase for what you're trying to deliver from inside the app.
I think your case is much like Skype iOS app. You will need to go through in-app purchase for your app as the credit will be used to make calls via app to other countries.
is this okay to implement payment system on ios apps? I would like to make an app that can browse products on my e-commerce website then let people buy products on my app. I'm asking this question because i've heard it is violating apple's policy.
It apparently depends on the what is being sold. The definitive answer can only be gotten from your lawyer's reading of the Apple agreement, of course, but I can speak from a little experience.
Apple themselves say that: if a product is sold in-app, it must use Apple's IAP (which gives Apple their 30% cut), and not be offered for less through other channels. However, there is an extensive list of things that are not eligible for purchase with IAP at all. Chief among these are: physical products; and services performed outside the application.
I have worked on two apps, both free, that are clients for fee-based web services (continuing education classes in one case, an employee scheduling service in the other). Neither used IAP, just linked to a purchasing web page. Both were accepted by Apple without comment. It seems that since the products were (arguably) not eligible for IAP, using an alternative purchase method was permitted. I'm sure it helps that Apple itself does not compete with either of these services.
Bear in mind Apple has also rejected apps that are just "wrappers" for web sites and offer no real app functionality; or for any of a long list of sillier reasons. (e.g.: I had one app rejected for using the word "Sample" in the name; but a change to "Free", with identical functionality, made it OK.) So consult a lawyer before taking any risk predicated on the developer agreement.
[edited to add:]
For dev program members, the relevant legalese is to be found here (login required), "iOS Developer Program License Agreement", attachment 2 (about 2/3 through the document.) A few relevant phrases from the Jun 12 2012 version, emphases mine:
You may not use the In-App Purchase API to offer goods or services to be used outside of Your Application.
You may not enable end-users to purchase Currency of any kind through the In-App Purchase API, including but not limited to any Currency for exchange, gifting, redemption,
transfer, trading or use in purchasing or obtaining anything within or outside of Your Application.
Rentals of content, services or functionality through the In-App Purchase API are not allowed
You may not use the In-App Purchase API to send any software updates to Your Application or otherwise add any additional executable code to Your Application. (not that this is even physically possible. --R.)
[except] as permitted under Section 3.3.23 (In-App Purchase API), an Application may not provide, unlock or enable additional features or functionality through distribution mechanisms other than the App Store or VPP/B2B Program Site.
By my reading, this means that anything besides unlocking functionality within an app is fair game for an alternative purchase mechanism, and forbidden categories of items require such. But ask a real lawyer.
[edited to add, much later:]
After a fun update fiasco with one of the above mentioned apps, these anecdotes are not entirely true anymore. Apple booted one of them because of a tenuous link to a signup web page for some paid services. So be careful, and be prepared for Apple to yank things arbitrarily if you wander anywhere close to the line.
You must use In-App Purchase via StoreKit or your app will be rejected. Implementing your own payment system violates a couple of the review guidelines, most directly:
Apps utilizing a system other than the
In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase
content, functionality, or services in
an app will be rejected
This of course only applies to content, functionality, or services within the app, as long a the purchase is only relevant to things outside of the app they have no stake in the purchase.
Pretty sure Apple won't allow that, especially if the App is free. They are putting up the money to distribute your app, provide the development tools, etc, so they'd like to take their cut off everything you make as a result of that.
Here is App Store Review Guidelines.
Read 3.1.1.
The app is a small portal from which you can view/buy videos, view/buy songs, play/buy games and view/buy epubs.
Would Apple view this app as competing or being similar to the App Store or iBooks and thus reject it?
Are you going to use in-app purchase for it? If so, you should have less of a problem. But yes, as mentioned, they might view it as competition, but typically they are quite lenient if they still make profit from the in-app purchases. Also, since you are selling more than one type of media, it cannot really be viewed as direct competition.
If you use StoreKit for purchases, you should be fine as long as you don't create functionality that is the same or similar to the functionality provided by the integrated apps. You have to have a unique difference ("Use the special gmail-functions" was enough for google mail but that was Google).
If your app uses another payment mechanism (PayPal, ...) it will be denied. You have to use StoreKit / iTunes and give apple 30% of the revenue.
I'm building kind of a mobile marketplace on which users can offer and buy services that are only valid for a short time (for example, 5 hours).
Is there a possibility to implement a in-app payment method (in iOS/Android) for that? The problem is that in "normal" in-app purchases you have specific, pre-defined goods or services that are bought in the app. In my marketplace, user can offer lots of different services themselves (various products, prices, etc.) so specific products wouldn't help.
Thanks in advance and kind regards,
Clemens
I can only speak for the iPhone
And as you have figured out already, it is not possible. You have to create all your in-app-purchase products in iTunes Connect, and they all have to be reviewed by apple.
And if you mean physical goods when you say "various products" then it isn't allowed anyway.
IAP is only allowed for stuff that is used inside your app.
This answer is about the iOS app store, from what I understand the Android marker is basically the wild west.
The obvious solution is to sell people "tokens" of some sort in the app, then let them trade those tokens to other users for their products/goods/services. Then you need a way to redeem people's tokens for cash, presumably keeping a modest cut "for the house". I don't see anything in the App Store TOS that would outlaw that.