Unlocking features after website purchase?

Question

Created Mar ’16

Replies 3

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My (live) iOS app is a web app that displays my website, along with some native functionality. The website will soon have a paid premium version with extra features.

Let's say someone buys a subscription while using the website in a regular browser. Am I now allowed to give that person access to the website's premium features when they later view the website via the app? The payment, of course, will not have been via the App Store since it was done in a regular browser.

I have seen this rule "Apps that unlock or enable additional features or functionality with mechanisms other than the App Store will be rejected." However, in my case the unlocking is not happening in the app, but on the browser-website.

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Answer 1

KMT OP

Mar ’16

>However, in my case the unlocking is not happening in the app, but on the browser-website.

Which seems to be the very definition of the 'other than the App Store' rule.

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Answer 2

RLKingSoftware OP

Mar ’16

Your premise is entirely wrong. Your app technically, isn't an app at all but a web browser

with some native features thrown in to get past app review. As such, your question makes zero

sense. There are no features in the app to be unlocked.

Let's clarify here:

Features, printing, graphing, the ability to save or edit, the ability to share content via Facebook

as an example. Generating a .pdf or other format file for use in other apps or outside of the app.

The ability to add/remove/edit notes or reminders. Additional game levels or lives. Consumable

currency for use within the app itself. The list is quite long.

Content, audio, video, books, other document types, etc.

From your description, your website does not require the app so technically, it is neither a feature

nor content. What you do on your website, has no effect on how the app itself functions either so

again, your question makes no sense.

These are developer to developer forums. Apple employees aren't here except on the rare occasions

when they, on their own time, visit these forums to help with questions they can answer from their

personal experience without representing Apple or disclosing anything not already disclosed by

Apple directly.

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Answer 3

pippi OP

Mar ’16

It seems weird that it would be possible to get around all of Apple's payment requirements just by making the app be a web app instead of a native app. The website is as complex as many apps. The new features will, for example, enable the user to save, organize, and edit more of their data. What difference does it make whether this is happens to be via native or web features? Apple does not anywhere in their policies distinguish between native and non-native web features.

It would be great if this were true (sure makes my life easier), but I'd very much hate to suddenly be removed from the store for non-compliance. Do you know of any specific cases where Apple has made such a distinction? Or do you know of any web apps that do, in fact, allow the user to pay for more (web) functionality from within the app? What are you basing this on?

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