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Apple Store Will Reject Your Subscription-Based App if You Forget This!

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Apple’s App Store helps its customers find and download your apps. Without the app store, it is difficult for your business to provide apps for your customers. For your apps to be published on Apple’s App Store, your app must first meet the requirements set by them.

Once you submit your apps, Apple executives decide whether your apps belong to the app store-7 or not. They look at the Apple app store guidelines and test your apps for their various predetermined rules. Then they decide whether your app is worth accepting to the app store or not. If you violate their agreements, they will reject your app submission.

A blog we wrote before gives you the top tips you can follow to avoid Apple rejecting your app submission. However, we’ve found more in the Apple app guidelines. A small often ignored snippet of the guidelines gives out some very specific rules. If you do everything else perfectly and miss this part out, all your effort might just go to waste. In this blog, you’re going to learn what this part of the guideline is and how you can prepare your app for it. One thing you must know before we go on is that the guideline we are going to discuss in the blog is only for apps that have a paid subscription model attached to it.

The Paid Applications Agreement

What we’re going to discuss is Apple’s guidelines’ Paid Application Agreement. PAA is a 37-page long agreement you have to agree to before you submit your app. It can be read through iTunes Connect. Out of the PAA, we are concerned with Schedule 2, Section 3.8(b) of the document.

Apple’s Oversight

The phrase we are concerned about in this article is ‘clearly and conspicuously’. What Apple wants us to do is mention all that is on the list in your app’s auto-renewing section. Most of what is mentioned in this list are simple enough to understand and implement. However, there lies a small problem that might just be misinterpreted.

When Apple says, it needs everything to be mentioned, it means it. Most developers use iOS StoreKit’s subscription purchase flow. It’s common and it’s been adopted by everyone to make it for users to buy multiple apps and give a homogenous experience to all users.

The purchase flow UI by default contains everything that is mentioned in this list. However, there has been an oversight by Apple. The UI mentions everything except telling users of the 24-hour renewal policy. This wouldn’t have been that big of a problem but this is where Apple’s oversight comes in.

Apple has never truly clarified what ‘clearly and conspicuously’ means. Some developers who have mentioned the 24-hour policy with a dropdown arrow or a CTA have been rejected and others who have done the same have got the nod. This becomes frustrating because Apple’s purchase flow UI is excellent on itself. Developing a new purchase flow from scratch takes time and resources.

The Developer Perspective

Technically, the regulation itself is simple legalese. There is no real ground to it but Apple treats it ambiguously. There have been calls to Apple to address and suggest a solution to this problem. So far, they have not given a substantial solution. Developers have been looking for a way around this problem.

They have been asking Apple to either create space for this in the purchase UI or make this guideline a part of the default Apple guidelines. It is a very trivial issue to get your app rejected over. Just one vague pointer with no clarification can put your meticulously created app into a drain.

3 Ways to Comply With 3.8(b)

As I mentioned above, one way to get around the rule is by including a dropdown text in the purchase flow UI. There is no guarantee, however, that your app will be approved by Apple. They might still reject it on these grounds. The Template has been given below:

A [purchase amount and period] purchase will be applied to your iTunes account [at the end of the trial or intro| on confirmation].

Subscriptions will automatically renew unless canceled within 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime with your iTunes account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial will be forfeited if you purchase a subscription.

For more information, see our [link to ToS] and [link to Privacy Policy].

Hopefully, this will work for you. However, if this fails, we have one more way to help you through this regulation. You could create your own custom purchase flow. Apple provides various resources to help you with this.

A third way to comply with the 3.8 regulation is to include it in your App Description. If Apple ever brings it up, just mention it to them and you have a simple workaround to this problem.

Using Appy Pie Appmakr

Another way to get around this problem is by using Appy Pie Appmakr. Our no code app builder ensures that you meet all regulatory requirements while you are creating your apps. Our Appmakr has been designed for it. A lot of business apps are made using AppMakr simply because it is that easy.

Plus, we help you through the publishing process. In case your app does get rejected our customer support will assist you through the publishing process and ensure that your app gets published in time.

Conclusion

Newer iOS might finally tackle this problem. However, until then, workarounds are the only true solution to this regulation. If you don’t have time to deal with Apple’s regulations, Appy Pie AppMakr can help make your app’s publishing process easier.

We have already simplified and made the app-making process easy for all users. We are also making app publishing easier. Check out Appy Pie!