App Store Subscriptions

https://developer.apple.com/app-store/subscriptions/

by dirtyaura • 10 years ago

130 99 10 years ago

developer.apple.com

numbsafari• 10 years ago

Apple needs to provide an API to allow developers to cancel a subscription on a user's behalf. Currently, the only way to do this is through the app store, and many customers find this very confusing, resulting in poor customer experience and a heavy support burden on developers.

Many customers forget where they even sourced their subscription to begin with, especially if you have a multi-/omni-channel presence.

tuna-piano• 10 years ago

You mean the process to get to the subscription management page isn't intuitive? I'd actually be shocked if more than 3 people out of the 1 billion that have bought iOS devices have ever figured this out without Googling or being shown. "Tap View Apple ID", seriously?

1. On the Home screen, tap Settings.

2. Tap iTunes & App Store.

3. Tap your Apple ID at the top of the screen.

4. Tap View Apple ID.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039

LoSboccacc• 10 years ago

depends on what will be on the person bank statement, if it's your company or apple. they will call you to cancel, not apple, if the statements say the charge is for your service

apple isn't new to this kind of outsourcing

dandare• 10 years ago

I keep watching in disbelief (from distance) how Apple more and more sucks at user experience. The next thing I know Microsoft will be releasing software that just works, lol.

Osmium3• 10 years ago

"Tap View Apple ID", seriously?

This has always seemed like a horrible user-hostile dark-pattern on Apple's part. When you subscribe, Apple says to go to Settings to unsubscribe or turn off auto-renew, but it's very opaque. It's also hidden behind a username/password prompt.

It would be much better if there were a Subscriptions option directly under 'iTunes & App Store' – even if there were still a password prompt behind this, at least people would know how to find it.

But Apple have long, long needed to modernise their entire iTunes Store experience, of which subscriptions are just one small problem. Does anyone know if it's still running on WebObjects? The whole experience has always felt slow and un-responsive, which felt normal when it first launched, but now feels very behind the times. It wouldn't surprise me if the subscriptions issue is a result of this too. Would be interested to hear if this is the case.

It's always felt like poor discoverability and lag were big reasons behind their social efforts (Ping/Connect) failing too. Not every social network needs a web presence, but presumably it'd help to be able to access/link to this content on the web at large, rather than it being buried deep inside existing apps.

stanleydrew• 10 years ago

Tap #2 is bad enough.

I'm a relatively-infrequent Apple user who signed up for HBO Now when it first came out and you had to sign up exclusively via an iPhone App. As it turned out, you could use the credentials obtained from that signup to sign in with any web browser and stream content. You didn't need to use the app itself.

Apple was literally just handling payments and subscriptions for HBO Now, exclusively, for 3 months.

Imagine my frustration at trying to find out when my subscription was set to renew. Why am I supposed to know that iTunes and App Store settings is where I should look for anything to do with a subscription for something that isn't visibly tied to either iTunes or the App Store?

Taps #3 and #4 are truly banana-pants insane though.

tedmiston4• 10 years ago

5. Enter password

6. Tap Subscriptions > Manage

7. Tap on a subscription

That's a crazy convoluted flow. It's hard to believe it was made that way on accident. Hopefully this change in iOS 10.

ultramancool• 10 years ago

Let's compare with Google's:

1. Play Store

2. hamburger menu

3. Account

4. Subscriptions

Not a lot better, but at least makes more sense than "View Apple ID" I think.

protomyth4• 10 years ago

That would almost require Apple to allow developers to have an actual direct relationship with the customers. As far as I can see, they are Apple's customers that you are just renting.

jsprogrammer3• 10 years ago

Wouldn't it just require an API call?

Jarred• 10 years ago

I paid for YouTube Red under two different accounts for three months before realizing how to cancel it.

mrmondo• 10 years ago

As someone who's cancelled lots of subscriptions - I couldn't agree more, it's a right pain in the ass and the Apple website where you do unsubscribe is painfully slow (at least in Australia)

fma2• 10 years ago

My dad somehow subscribed to some kind of HBO or something through the App Store..couldn't figure out how cancel. Ended up cancelling the credit card.

xg155• 10 years ago

Slightly redeeming, apparently devs can now at least transfer users directly to the "manage subscriptions" page:

Rather than needing to code your own subscription management UI, your app can open the following URL:

https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/man...

Opening this URL launches iTunes or iTunes Store, and then displays the Manage Subscription page.

See: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/Networ...

larrik• 10 years ago

Is this a new page? I thought these were a thing for a while.

ihuman• 10 years ago

Subscriptions have been around for a while, but recently Apple has been clarifying new, acceptable use cases for them.

xg155• 10 years ago

Auto-renewable subscriptions provide a simple way to offer free trials to users.

I do like that Apple promotes the classic "let's hook them with a free trial and hope they forget to unsubscribe in time" dark pattern as an official use case.

(Edit) Also:

Even if a user cancels and resubscribes within 60 days, they will still accumulate days of service from the point where they lapsed. [...] As part of your overall subscription marketing plan, consider ways to win back lapsed subscribers with targeted messaging, such as email or in-app messaging, to communicate the value of your subscriptions and encourage users to resubscribe.

So app developers are not just incentivized, Apple explicitly advises that they spam unsubscribers with notifications to win them back. Sounds great!

tedmiston4• 10 years ago

Eh, call it what you want. I'm just happy to see free trials in iOS apps.

AlexandrB• 10 years ago

Finally.

Another 6 years and maybe we'll get upgrade pricing - something that's been available in mainstream software since the 90s.

scarlac• 10 years ago

In my experience, Apple actually warns about renewal before they renew. This is something I have yet to see with other major services. Hopefully it'll stay in and other services follows suit.

xg155• 10 years ago

If that's the case, it would make it somewhat less suspicious. Given how deep the unsubscribe button seems to be buried, I hadn't been hopeful.

marklubi3• 10 years ago

I'm starting to question whether or not Apple still notifies users prior to all renewals...

I have a handful of monthly subscriptions through the App Store, and currently, none of them notify me of the renewal before it occurs (I've checked my spam folder).

When I first subscribed to an app a couple of years ago, I received notifications before renewals (that sub was a 6 month or 1 year term, I don't recall exactly).

I also have an app that has offered subscriptions for almost 2 years. From end user reports recently (there weren't many issues about renewals until more recently), I'm getting the impression that Apple doesn't notify about upcoming subscription renewals unless the payment method Apple has on file is out of date, as we get quite a few emails asking about how to update payment information.

We would certainly be interested in finding out what others (both end-users and app developers) have found in their experience.

mpweiher• 10 years ago

"Auto-renewable subscriptions provide a simple way to offer free trials to users."

Not sure it said that before.

ovao• 10 years ago

On April 19th [0], it read: "If you have an app with auto-renewable subscriptions, you have the option of offering free trials to new users."

[0] https://web.archive.org/web/20160419200531/https://developer...

cpr• 10 years ago

The free trial period is a huge win for developers, something we've been wanting since the beginning.

(Though admittedly it's only for subscription-based pricing, but, let's admit it, one-time software purchases seem to be going the way of the dodo.)

chipperyman5732• 10 years ago

How would trials work with one-time purchases?

krrrh• 10 years ago

Download app for free, it works for n days then it displays a 'thanks for trying' screen unless you pay. Desktop "shareware" has worked like this for decades.

archagon• 10 years ago

let's admit it, one-time software purchases seem to be going the way of the dodo.

I don't think one-time software purchases are going anywhere. In fact, the more apps switch to ad-driven or subscription pricing, the easier it will be for (unique, interesting) apps with non-subscription pricing to market this to their advantage. I expect subscription-based revenue in the App Store will dry up for the vast majority of apps once users get over the novelty in a few years.

Plus, some software simply cannot be subscription based by definition. Most non-AAA games are finished works with only maintenance updates in their future. Who would want to subscribe to that?

seibelj• 10 years ago

I hope to god they make testing them easier. If you set a subscription to annual, then your test account can only test it every hour (and it used to be every 4 hours).[0] Imagine during development and testing only being able to verify your code flow every hour! I changed to "non-renewing subscriptions" to avoid this, which are essentially one-time purchases that don't require using their ridiculously awful subscription API.

[0] https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/Langua...

asimuvPR• 10 years ago

I recently had to work with it and drove me insane. Development sandboxes should be frictionless.

orbitur• 10 years ago

This is a dumb workaround, but you can also add a monthly auto-renewing subscription that's just for testing. It auto-renews every 3 or 5 minutes (I forget which), and expires after 15 minutes.

ourcat3• 10 years ago

I wonder what the deal is with the fact that in the UK, everyone who uses the BBC iPlayer on any platform must now own a 'TV License' and pay £145 per year.

Until yesterday, you could use the app to watch things on catch-up. Now the 'levy/subscription/tax/license' is mandatory.

Is there a loophole they're using that I'm missing? eg: That they don't want to call it a 'subscription', even though that's exactly what is. (Well, more of a 'tax', but they hate calling it that too.)

matthewmacleod• 10 years ago

What's the problem? You're still perfectly able to provide service to customers who've already got a subscription; you are only denied the ability to offer them an opportunity to purchase that subscription from the app.

ourcat3• 10 years ago

No problem. Just wanting to clarify how it relates.

So, since no one 'buys' a subscription 'through the app' then Apple can't demand a cut? Is that right?

I thought there was an issue if an app provided content which was only consumable through a paid subscription. Which the iPlayer now is. (Though you don't need to log in to view it, but you'll be breaking the law if you do and you haven't paid.)

ta.

redwards510• 10 years ago

At the end of each subscription duration, the subscription will automatically renew until a user chooses to cancel it.

What happens when a user dies? I mean, that does happen occasionally. Are the relatives on the hook to somehow email apple the death certificate to clear out their debts five years later? The issue of death on the internet is woefully overlooked. Perhaps there is an opportunity here for a startup to provide "closure services" where they settle all accounts.

usaphp• 10 years ago

Probably the same as what happens when for example a gym member dies? All your credit cards probably be closed and services won't be able to charge you anymore.

ProAm2• 10 years ago

Then you go to collections

nasalgoat• 10 years ago

Generally credit cards are cancelled after you die.

mnx• 10 years ago

I would assume that it's the CC that is generally closed, and then the charge just fails.

AJRF2• 10 years ago

This looks like it will result in dark patterns to try and get people to stay beyond the treshold for increased returns.

eridius• 10 years ago

What, offering enough value so the user subscribes for longer than a year? How is that a "dark pattern"?

AJRF2• 10 years ago

No.

madeofpalk2• 10 years ago

I could get if the 'threshold' is a week - games could start timegating things by a few days.

But really, we're talking about a year here. I feel its a long enough timeframe that mostly encourages good practices (like continuously providing value for subscribing customers).

koolba2• 10 years ago

Let the lawsuits and squabbles over negative response billing for iOS apps begin!

koolba2• 10 years ago

I want an option, as a consumer, that disables the ability to sign up for anything that has recurring billing.

Yes it's possible to have no credit card at all on file for your itunes account (though they go out of their way for you to not realize that), but sometimes you may want to actually pay for an app too.

jlg23• 10 years ago

Yes it's possible to have no credit card at all on file for your itunes account [-] though they go out of their way for you to not realize that

Funnily I tried to give apple some money through the app store but made the mistake of signing up with my German credit card when living in LA and was lost in a "we cannot accept this German CC with a LA address"-limbo and never was offered a way out. So I now have a crapple account that one cannot put money into without some apparently lengthy verification process and I therefore can give my app store credentials to friends who just need some xcode update :D

Happpy• 10 years ago

Could you subscribe to receive/buy weekly/monthly coins(virtual currency)?

Or is this only for app usage.

aaronbrager2• 10 years ago

You can't use subscriptions for consumable purchases.

KenanSulayman• 10 years ago

"For apps currently offering subscriptions, note that if you raise prices before iOS 10 is available, customer notification will behave as it does today. We recommend holding on price increases until iOS 10 is available so your apps can take advantage of customer consent to price increase notifications."

chrisan• 10 years ago

It's odd they are using Netflix as a poster child for this. Isn't 30->15% of your subscription really a big deal for them?

I'm an audible, spotify, and netflix subscriber currently. I have to purchase (or use tokens) on their respective sites then I can stream the content in the app.

What is the value add for companies like these to "take advantage" of an app store subscription?

ktta• 10 years ago

What is the value add for companies like these to "take advantage" of an app store subscription?

As I see it, none. But Apple would love getting netflix and spotify subscribers, since those services are ones that people stay on forever.

Actually some companies DO NOT like it, because they might lose some users due to the pricing being bumped up 30%

www.theverge.com/2015/7/8/8913105/spotify-apple-app-store-email

www.recode.net/2016/6/30/12067578/spotify-apple-app-store-rejection

edoceo• 10 years ago

I hope they don't force the use of this. I have a web app with subscription working now. Added an App that only works with existing subscription. What if I'm forced to this?

chipperyman5732• 10 years ago

It'd be pretty hard to enforce for apps that are normally web-based but also have an app (they might just redevelop their website to be mobile friendly instead of needing an app) or apps that aren't just for iOS (it's easier to maintain one subscription service instead of two)

erickhill• 10 years ago

I love the opportunity this model provides. But for an existing app (that would greatly benefit from subscriptions and offers continuous new content daily) how to message this kind of switch w/o simply starting over seems, well, difficult to say the least. Unless you put one app "to bed" and start anew, how do others imagine taking advantage of this model? Or does it apply better to only new apps? Hard to say.

aaronbrager2• 10 years ago

You can enable new features only to users with a subscription.

daemonhunter• 10 years ago

Apple and their ever-so-generous 30% take. As a multiple Apple product user, I still see that is horrible.

matt_m• 10 years ago

There's a lot of negativity around recurring payments but I'm excited about this model both as a developer and a consumer particularly on iPad. There's been a race to the bottom in pricing in mobile app stores, where a one-time payment equivalent to a cup of coffee can be seen as too expensive for an app costing tens of thousands of dollars (or more) in engineer time to make / support. Maybe as a result of this there's no shortage of micropayment or advertising based mobile games but the productivity space is not very competitive with Mac/PC where people don't blink at paying 10x that cost up front.

If this can establish a middle ground where more app categories can find a sustainable business model including long term support and updates that could be very interesting, especially now that many apps might want to include cloud-based features where committing to support forever in exchange for a one-time payment might be a risky proposition.

App Store Subscriptions

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