Apple's AppStore Store allows you to create subscriptions for content served within your iOS apps. This article covers creating an in-app purchase for use with a Subscription you define in the mag+ Publish portal.
Important Information
- mag+ Single-Issue apps do not support in-app purchases. Single-Issue apps themselves can be sold for a price, but they cannot contain content (Subscriptions or additional Issues) for sale.
- Subscriptions in Apple's AppStore Store work differently than subscriptions in Google Play. When an end user buys a subscription in Apple's AppStore Store, they gain access to content published from the start of their subscription to the end of their subscription. When an end user cancels, they retain the ability to download content associated with the subscription.
Before You Begin
- To create in-app purchases, you must first request a contract for iOS paid apps. This can be found under the "Agreements, Tax and Banking" section in iTunes Connect.
How To Create An In-App Purchase For A Subscription
2. Click on the app you wish to modify.
The App Summary page will appear, similar to what is shown below.
3. Click on the "In-App Purchases" link to see a list of all In-App purchases associated with your app.
5. In the screen that appears, select the option that is appropriate for the kind of subscription you wish to offer.

Important Information
- Choose "Auto-Renewable Subscriptions" This type of subscription renews automatically unless cancelled by the user.
- Choose "Non-Renewable" A product that allows users to purchase a service with a limited duration
Note: If you do not see the auto-renewable option, it is likely because you have not yet requested the paid apps contract under the "Agreements, Tax and Banking" section in AppStore Connect.
6. If necessary, choose an existing family for a subscription product or create a new one.
Note: Think of subscription durations as individual products. Each contains its own time length, price, and marketing incentives. You define durations within a single family to let users choose one when they renew their subscription.
7. Configure the options for your In-App Purchase.
General Settings
- Reference Name: This name is only for your own reference. it will be viewed in AppStore Connect and in sales and trend reports.
Subscription Durations and Pricing (Paid Subscriptions Only)
Subscription Durations allow you to add multiple subscription offers to your readers. Click the "Add Duration" button to add a new subscription duration. In the screen that appears, you will see the following:
- Duration: A subscription duration is the length of time between auto-renewals. Each duration can only be used once per subscription family.
- Product ID: A Product ID associated with your subscription duration (eg brand.app.sub.monthly). This is the Apple product identifier you will associate with the subscription in the mag+ Publish portal.
- Offer a marketing opt-in incentive: When a user purchases a subscription, a popup window will appear asking the user to share his name, email and zip code already on file with Apple with the publisher of the app. This opt-in incentive is a way for you to offer additional free time to the subscription if the user chooses to share that information.
- Offer a free trial: Allows you to specify a period where readers can access your content for free.
- Cleared for Sale: Click "Yes" if the subscription is correctly setup in the mag+ Publish portal and you wish to enable the subscription duration as soon as possible. Click "No" if you plan to enable this subscription at a later time.
- Price Tier: You can choose to view the Pricing Matrix and then choose a price tier for the subscription.
Note: Customers will be notified if the price of an auto-renewable subscription increases during the duration of their subscription. In this case, customers are opted-out after their original subscriptions expire. These customers will have to manually renew their subscription at the increased price in the App Store.
If the price of an auto-renewable subscription decreases during a customer's subscription period, the customer will not be notified and the subscription will automatically renew at the lower price.
In-App Purchase Details
- Language: Click "Add Language" to add a language setting for your In-App purchase.
- Choose your language from the drop-down menu.
- Display Name: This is the name shown on your customer's AppStore receipt. The name of the Issue viewed in the app is the title you set for your Issue in the mag+ Publish portal.
- Display Description: This is the description shown on your customer's iTunes receipt. The description of the Issue viewed in the app is the description you set for your Issue in the mag+ Publish portal.
- Publication Name: The publication name is intended for the title of your content. It may be the same as your app name and/or display name, but it should not include format descriptions such as "iPad version." The publication name cannot be longer than 30 characters.
- Review Notes (Optional): This is where additional information about your In-App purchase can be included to help Apple with its review. This is generally unnecessary.
- Screenshot for Review: Before you submit your In-App Purchase for review, you must upload a screenshot. The screenshot is for review purposes only and won't be displayed in the App Store. Screenshots must be at least 640x920 pixels and at least 72 DPI.
8. Click "Done" when finished.
9. Copy the In-App Purchase ID from the In app purchase and Use it in the Publish portal while creating Subscription.
10. Click "Done" when finished.
Completing Subscription Set-Up: Next Steps
To complete the set-up of your subscription, the following items need to be completed:
- You must go to the mag+ Publish portal and associate the In-App Product ID you copied above with the corresponding mag+ Subscription. For more information on mag+ Subscriptions, read the article "General - Adding and Managing In-App Subscriptions."
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