Hello,
We’re implementing subscription validation on our server using Apple’s latest APIs and have run into a few issues and uncertainties. We are transitioning away from the deprecated /verifyReceipt endpoint and are now using the /inApps/v1/subscriptions/{transactionId} API. However, we have questions about how to handle transaction validation, particularly around older transactions and notification behavior in the sandbox environment. Additionally, we are facing challenges with Apple Server Notifications, especially regarding when we should expect to be notified of subscription cancellations or expirations.
Below are the specific questions we hope the community can help us with:
Question 1: We are using the inApps/v1/subscriptions/{transactionId} API to retrieve the subscription status and validate subscriptions on our server side, since the /verifyReceipt endpoint has been deprecated. This API always returns the last transaction for a subscription. Should we only validate the latest transaction, and is it guaranteed that even if we provide an older transaction ID, the API will always return the most up-to-date transaction information? https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appstoreserverapi/get_all_subscription_statuses/ https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appstorereceipts/verifyreceipt
Question 2: In the sandbox environment, we encountered an empty response when trying to validate a transaction ID. We are attempting to validate older transactions made by the user to keep our system and store subscriptions in sync. Could you provide guidance on why this might be happening and how we can validate older transactions?
Question 3: We are using Apple Server Notifications to track subscription renewals and changes. However, when a user disables auto-renewal, we do not receive a webhook notification when the subscription actually expires or is canceled. We only get notified when the user changes their renewal preferences. Should we expect a separate notification when the subscription fully expires or is canceled, or is this behavior expected? https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appstoreservernotifications/notificationtype