App Store Connect (Apple)
BUSINESS
App Store Connect is a suite of tools used by members of the Apple Developer Program to publish and manage apps on the App Store,Apple Business Manager, and Apple School Manager. Use it to submit apps, in-app purchases, in-app events, and other content. Invite people to beta test your app with TestFlight, add tax and banking information to receive payments, access sales reports, view analytics, and much more.
Initially, only the Account Holder (the person who joins the Apple Developer Program) has access to App Store Connect. Later, the Account Holder can create additional users in App Store Connect and assign specific roles. App Store Connect is available on the web and as an app for iOS and iPadOS.
Auto-Renewable Subscription (Apple)
BUSINESS
Auto-renewable subscriptions provide access to content, services, or premium features in your app on an ongoing basis. They automatically renew at the end of their duration until the user chooses to cancel. Subscriptions are available on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
Great subscription apps justify the recurring payment by providing ongoing value and continually innovating the app experience. If you’re considering implementing the subscription model, plan to regularly update your app with feature enhancements or expanded content.
Many types of apps can take advantage of subscriptions, including apps that offer new game levels, episodic content, software as a service, or cloud support. Other appropriate subscriptions include apps that offer consistent, substantive updates, or access to libraries or collections of content. You can offer subscriptions (a type of in-app purchase) alongside other in-app purchase types.
Get business guidance for auto-renewable subscriptions.
Billing Grace Period (Apple)
BUSINESS
Billing Grace Period lets subscribers whose auto-renewal failed due to a payment issue continue accessing your app’s paid content for a period of time while Apple continues to attempt to collect payment. There won’t be any interruption to the subscriber’s days of paid service or to your revenue if Apple is able to recover the subscription within the grace period. Without enabling Billing Grace Period, the subscriber’s days of paid service are paused until Apple is able to collect payment.
The duration of the grace period can be configured in App Store Connect, and the options are based on your subscription’s standard duration. You can also access Billing Grace Period settings with the App Store Connect API.
Family Sharing (Apple)
BUSINESS
Apps that offer auto-renewable subscriptions and nonconsumable in-app purchases can enable Family Sharing, which will allow users to share their purchase with up to five additional family members. You can choose which of your in-app purchases to allow Family Sharing for in App Store Connect.
Whether or not a user’s purchases are automatically shared with their family members depends on the type of in-app purchase, the user’s sharing preferences, and if the purchase was made before or after Family Sharing was turned on in App Store Connect. Users have the option of turning off Family Sharing in their subscription settings at any time.
| Auto-renewable subscriptions | Non-consumable in-app purchases |
|---|
New Users | Family Sharing is enabled by default depending on the preference set by the purchaser in Manage Subscriptions. | Family Sharing is enabled by default if the following conditions are met:
- user has purchase sharing enabled.
- the user's family members are sharing payment.
- the app is not hidden from the user's purchase history. |
Existing Users | Users must opt-in to Family Sharing from within their manage subscriptions page. | You can unlock access to the in-app purchase using receipt validation or App Store server notifications if the following conditions are met:
- user has purchase sharing enabled.
- the user's family members are sharing payment.
- the app is not hidden from the user's purchase history. |
StoreKit (Apple)
TECHNOLOGY
Use StoreKit to support in-app purchases for a safe, secure purchase experience. The StoreKit framework and in-app purchase APIs handle purchases end to end, including retrieving product information, processing payments, and delivering the product.
Learn more about StoreKit
StoreKit Configuration File (Apple)
TECHNOLOGY
The file that holds the In-App Purchases and Subscriptions for an iOS, MacOS, TVOS or WatchOS app.
Subscription Group (Apple)
BUSINESS
A group of subscriptions with different access levels, prices, and durations that people can choose from.
They can upgrade or downgrade tiers, but never buy more than one subscription within a subscription group.
