Shared Auto-Renewable Subscription For Multiple Apps from the Same Developer

Question

Created Jun ’20

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As an indie developer I've created multiple iOS/macOS apps (in different categories; under the same dev account, just to be clear.)

Can I share auto-renewable subscription products between these apps, so I can unlock all premium features for users at once, as my primary business model?

More specific:

I setup a "Shared Premium Subscription" for each app with the same name and price. When user use one of the app and try to pay for premium features, the UI shows the subscription not only unlock this app but also other apps, with their name, core features and App Store link.

If they already subscribed on one of the app, they don't have to pay again for Premium Unlock.

(I might also provide a "Premium Unlock for This App Only" non-consumable product for each app as another option, if user don't want to subscribe for multiple apps.)

I know I need to create some backend mechanisms to make sure user don't subscribe simultaneously on different apps. (Which brings more questions, I'll ask elsewhere.)

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Answer 1

khanov OP

Jun ’20

You can take advantage of universal purchases announced in March: Offering Universal Purchase.

To be able to share auto-renewable subscription products across your apps, they need to use a single bundle ID and be associated with the same app record in App Store Connect.

So, if you want to share purchases across your iOS and macOS apps with the same bundle ID, you can do that and the App Store will handle all the logic for you.

However, this approach doesn't let you share purchases on a single platform. For example, you have two iOS apps and you want to share purchases between them. Universal purchases can't help you with that. You'll need to build your own back-end solution to keep track of users and their subscription status.

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Answer 2

Ethan Huang OP

Jun ’20

Thanks for the answer. I'm aware of Universal Purchase.

To be clear, I'm asking for apps with different bundle IDs, under the same developer account.

Also I'm asking for business model, not implementation detail.

Maybe I should ask at App Store lab?

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