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I am looking for a subscription solution in my app where the user can use the app for free and then to be able to sync with a website he/she pays a monthly subscription fee. Right now I'm using PayPal for this but I wanted to include this into the iPhone app and therefore in app purchase subscription seems like the right way to implement it.

I have created a webservice that can be called and that creates the user on my website. I will call this webservice when the user have paid in the iPhone. BUT as I'm using a subscription model I want the subscription to be automatically renewed each month until the user ends it. Is this possible or does the user need to purchase my subscription each month? If so, it seems kind of stupid, with PayPal all subscriptions are renewed each month. Where can I find information about this?

Thanks!

Martin
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2 Answers2

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The correct answer at this point of time is

https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/StoreKitGuide/RenewableSubscriptions/RenewableSubscriptions.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40008267-CH4-SW2

Jonny
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  • Yes, but **be wary** of Auto Renewing Subscriptions. If your app is not a magazine or similar periodical, steer clear. View my answer here to see evidence of Apple rejecting certain apps for using ARS's and recommending they go with Non-Renewing Subscriptions instead: http://stackoverflow.com/a/8901535/241138 – Andrew Sep 12 '12 at 20:18
  • this seems to be out of date issue – raistlin Nov 22 '13 at 10:52
  • for productivity apps, you can make apps that enable more features than their free version, based on an auto-renewable subscription – Radu Simionescu Oct 23 '15 at 14:01
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In-app purchase subscriptions do not auto-renew. If you want them to, you should send a bug to Apple with a feature request, but I doubt they will be implementing that anytime soon. Your options are to keep doing it the way you're doing it now (through paypal), to have the user re-subscribe every 30 days, or to offer longer subscription periods. For instance, you could offer a 30-day, 6-month and one year option.

Jason Coco
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  • One thing though, I really can't see the difference between Consumable and Subscription? – Martin Jan 17 '10 at 10:16
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    It's mostly the wording that the user sees. With a consumable they will see words like "Would you like to purchase this product?" With a subscription they will see like "Are you sure you want to subscribe?" and if they are purchasing the same subscription again, they will see something like "You've already subscribed, would you like to renew or extend your subscription?" -- it's all the Apple store code. – Jason Coco Jan 17 '10 at 17:44
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    In the meantime, Apple introduced the Auto-Renewable subscriptions: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/StoreKitGuide/RenewableSubscriptions/RenewableSubscriptions.html – disco crazy Apr 18 '11 at 06:01
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    @JasonCoco What will be the best approach to handle the checking for multiple subscriptions i.e 3, 6 & 12 months.If user is subscribed to either of the duration ? – Ajay Sharma Jun 10 '13 at 07:25
  • There is a recurring subscription model for iOS. This answer is completely wrong. – Dpedrinha Jun 17 '21 at 06:19