Posts Tagged ‘app store submission’

Lessons Learned: Apple In-App Purchase Submission Checklist

Posted: August 17, 2025 in Uncategorized
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Having submitted an app with In-App purchases – specifically, subscriptions – to Apple’s store, our development team at M3 learned a lot about what will prevent a successful app submission. I hope this compiled list helps you get your app approved quickly, and prevent weeks of headaches.

I will update this article from time to time as more lessons are learned. I hope this article – and all the developer experience I’m relaying on behalf of others and myself – helps you!

An In-App Purchase Must Be Approved Before the App is Released

An In-App Purchase must be in the “Approved” state before it can be used in your app. This means Apple must test any new In-App Purchase Product or Subscription in your app release before anyone can purchase it, including you.

You Must Test In-App Purchases Work – Use the Sandbox Account

As explained above, it can seem like a “chicken and egg” problem. How do you test a product in production when it first must pass testing to get into production? This is where Sandbox accounts come into play. Under Users & Access in App Store Connect, you can assign Apple IDs that are allowed to purchase.

Note that these purchases don’t cost anything, but they can also expire. Make sure you stay on top of your sandbox purchases. Also, make sure you track the original purchase IDs coming back from the API. These will come in handy later when you need to restore subscriptions, which is anothe requirement.

Your App Must Provide a Mechanism to Restore the Subscription

It’s not enough to simply check Apple’s server to see if there is a valid subscription. You must offer an option in the UI (user interface) to explicitly restore.

It’s possible you will still be rejected for this reason. That can be due to Apple’s tester not being able to find the option. So, when you submit your testing instructions, make sure you point out where the option is. If they still say it isn’t there, politely reply to them with a screen shot proving you have such a feature.

You Must Show What the Expired Subscription Experience Looks Like

Make sure you provide an account, with credentials, that can be used to show off the app when a subscription has expired. Just include the credentials in the testing instructions. This should be a different account than the sample credentials you provide Apple for general testing.

Your App Must Clearly Explain What Benefits a Subscription Has vs. a Free Account

You must clearly describe what you get with a free account vs. a paid account. If there is no obvious benefit, Apple may reject you.

Your App Must Clearly Explain The Renewal Terms and Price

You must also be clear about your renewal terms, such as monthly, yearly, and so forth, and pricing. If it’s not clear, Apple can reject you.

It Must be Easy to Cancel Within Your App

It’s not enough that Apple lets you cancel from the App Store UI. You must also provide a button to allow cancelling your subscription.

When Verifying a Subscription Exists, Check BOTH Production AND Sandbox Environments

Apple may subscribe via Sandbox. So, if you only check Production when restoring accounts, you will fail to be approved because Apple won’t be able to restore their subscription. Always check Production first, then fall back to Sandbox.

Note Subscriptions Are Tied to Apple Accounts, Not Your Service’s Accounts

This was a big one. You can only have one subscription of each type per Apple account. However, your service may support multiple accounts. Make sure you track which account from your service subscribed, and tie that to the Apple original subscription ID. If you don’t, it’s possible you’ll be handing out “free” accounts to creating additional accounts under the same Apple ID.

You Can’t Generate Promo Codes Until the App is Approved

Unlike Google, Apple will only let you generate promo codes AFTER the app has been approved. Also, for subscriptions, Apple limits you to 100 promo codes with a 30 day expiration. Make sure you factor this into your testing and soft rollout plans.

Create Separate Test Accounts for Apple to Use

Don’t give Apple accounts your developers are using. Give them accounts that are in the exact state you need them to see. Developer accounts are too “in flux” to be reliable, and your own developers may interfere with Apple’s testing.

Be Thankful for (and take advantage of) Apple’s Feedback System

Apple likely has access to more testers than you do. There are aspects of In App Purchases you may not know how to test, or that you had to test in the first place. So, if you feel your app is in a submittable state and want to see if you covered everything, submit a build to Apple. They can give you a sanity check / smoke test you didn’t miss anything. If you pass the In App Purchases part of Apple’s testing, the rest may be smoother sailing 😉

Liq App Now Available for iOS and Android! (and adventures in app reviews!)

Posted: October 7, 2024 in Apple, Uncategorized
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Finally… my bourbon, whiskey, tequila, mezcal, wine, whatever you want to drink + taste + collect app… Liq… is now available for both mobile platforms. What an adventure!

But first, download today:

If you have feedback, or want new features, report them here: https://liq.feedbear.com/boards/feature-requests-bugs

And now on to the app review trials…

The App Request

Originally, Liq was a website – https://liq.live. It was the easiest place to start, and start figuring out what people want. Plus, any updates I push would be immediately available to everyone. No waiting on app updates, supporting older versions, writing an API and more advanced caching infrastructure… And no app store reviews to get through, which can be troublesome in some cases.

But my users have spoken! “We want an app!” So I got to work a couple months ago and started building. Thankfully, most of the code was reusable. I found out quickly, the mobile app was the way to go. I could guarantee the experience. I could code for phones vs. tablets. And I could make it insanely simple to have such a useful tasting + collection tool anywhere users went.

Once it was done and tested – thanks Club Marzipan! – I was ready to submit. I’ve done this countless times. Every time, you cross your fingers… Let the story begin.

The iOS Story

Usually, Apple App Review is the tough part. Who knows what unknown rule you might break when submitting your first app release. Once you’re past that, the untrusting eyes are mostly off you. But still… you have to get over that first hurdle.

My initial submission was rejected. Apple found a bug I had never tested for, and they rightfully rejected the app. But not only did they reject it for the bug, they rejected it saying it’s nothing better than a website and I should add native features.

Well, that wasn’t fair, but I could see their point. Because of the bug, you couldn’t use the app. So, you wouldn’t see any of the features. I thanked them for reporting the bug, and that I disagreed about the “native” part. When working properly, Liq uses many native features. Native camera. Native photo access. Native sharing. Plus it’s, well, a native compiled app. Basically, every native feature Facebook uses except Location and Video, neither of which I need. Apple wrote back it doesn’t matter, but I ignored that – I told them “you’ll see in my next upload.”

I fixed the bug – again, thanks Apple, that was a good catch! – and re-uploaded. They came back about a day later with a new rejection reason. The bug was resolved, so that issue was removed, as was the “native” issue – phew! – that would have been an unnecessary rewrite. This time they pointed out I had no way to request account deletion. Fair point. I got to work.

I had the accout deletion fixed within a few hours. I tested the heck out of it. It worked great. I resubmitted and hoped for the best.

Two days later is was approved. w00t!

I did have some additional fixes. I let the original version get out there – it was only going to be out for a day – while I fixed some more bugs and tightened things up. Apple Reviews go much faster when you already a published verison of the app. I submitted the update and it was reviewed and approved the same day. Boom, proof.

Now, on to Android…

The Android Story

Usually, Google Play – the Android store – submission is a slam dunk. Google appears to use AI and another automated code-analysis system. I recall it being named something like The Bouncer. I don’t recall the exact name – it’s been a long time and I imagine things have changed. Anyway, given Apple’s issues were largely just Apple requirements, I figured I’d be reviewed within a day. You never know though!

I started to worry when the review had taken more than 2 days. A status of In Review for more than a few hours is uncommon. I was concerned. Alas, the rejection email came in. And it wasn’t what I expected:

First, I don’t know what “all parts of the metadata” means. I think it’s telling me my provided app screenshots and what’s in the app don’t match its description. Specifically, “track your bottles” and “see what you’ve tasted.” Let’s look at their screenshot:

So that’s their “proof” my app is misleading. But what’s this? Their screenshots show exactly what my app description details. Tastings and Collection. It’s all right there.

I’m guessing this is just a case of AI making a mistake judging my app. I don’t blame Google – they probably get a lot of submissions, and have minimal resources to look at them. Remember all those layoffs?

I submitted an appeal. They said it would take 2 days.

I received an email saying it might take longer than 2 days. OK, let’s be patient.

One week later, I finally received a notice that my appeal was accepted. All I had to do – though it wasn’t entirely clear in the email – was resubmit my app. I did that and started to wait.

Two days later, it still was In Review. “Oh, no…” I was thinking to myself… Not this again… Don’t reject me again, AI.

Thankfully, a few days after, my app was finally approved. Wow, unexpected. But I’m happy 😀🎉

Enjoy my app!