Activation codes for free app / App Store rejection

What you propose is a violation of the guidelines.

3.1.1 In-App Purchase: If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, etc....

When you give a code 'for free' after a person buys a product that is not 'for free'. That requires the purchase of a product. And in any event, even if it were for free, it is still a violation of 3.1.1.

A reader app is clearly defined:

3.1.3(a) “Reader” Apps: Apps may allow a user to access previously purchased content or content subscriptions (specifically: magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video, access to professional databases, VoIP, cloud storage, and approved services such as classroom management apps), provided that you agree not to directly or indirectly target iOS users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase, and your general communications about other purchasing methods are not designed to discourage use of in-app purchase.

The content is external to the app. Access to the content is purchased outside the app. The app allows you to 'read' the content.

Would you then agree to the blog writer that it is possible to obey the guideline by providing the content in a web based application as well?

(https://headway.io/blog/apple-app-store-revenue-keep-a-bigger-piece-of-the-pie-with-web-based-purchases)

The “reader” provision is only technically valid if you have the same content available on the web for the user to login and see.

Or would it be more applicable to use the activation codes for access to a group, which then provides access to the app content?
(https://headway.io/blog/apple-app-store-revenue-keep-a-bigger-piece-of-the-pie-with-web-based-purchases)

Unlocking a subscription via a code without in-app purchasing is a non-starter. However, we have had success with passing App Store review when we use a custom code to associate a user to a team (in a sports context, but would work with a more generic “group”, as well). Apple will likely question this, but if you can prove that the content code isn’t facilitating the purchase to unlock content directly, and is just associating the user to the proper group/team to access already purchased content, then you’re fine to run under the provisions of the “Reader” app clause.

TMI.

>Apps may allow a user to access previously purchased content...you agree not to directly or indirectly target iOS users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase, and your general communications about other purchasing methods are not designed to discourage use of in-app purchase.

You may maintain a separate website outside the app that allows the user to set up an account and to purchase the content. Then within the app you may allow the user to log into their account and display (read) the content within the app. If you mention purchasing the content within the app then you must provide a method for the user to purchase the content within the app using IAP and not discourage the use of that IAP purchase method.

It is being discussed, that the first variant of the app will be working only with activation codes and without user accounts.

The approach would be to develop a backend that delivers content for free to the aforementioned app.

If a user has an activation code, he can download and locally view additional content. The codes are still free of charge and not user-bound.

The app would be primarily advertised by the activation codes and their operation manual. This way there would be no implicit or explicit advertisement of purchasing methods other than the in-app purchase.

https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#reader-apps

Apps may allow a user to access previously purchased content or content subscriptions (specifically: magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video, access to professional databases, VoIP, cloud storage, and approved services such as classroom management apps), provided that you agree not to directly or indirectly target iOS users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase, and your general communications about other purchasing methods are not designed to discourage use of in-app purchase.

If the activation codes would be distributed by a magazine, for example, and the app would only grant access to the magazine's content, the app could be defined as a "Reader App", correct?

That could be correct.

>the app would only grant access to the magazine's content

if by 'only' you mean it would do nothing other than 'grant access' then you are only reading the content and might be a reader app. But if you mean 'the app will do nothing else' then no, the activation code is needed to enable the app's code to operate.

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