Subscriptions and in-app purchases on mobile

  1. Classify your offer under store billing rules
    45 min

    Understand the rule before you design the product. Apple App Store Review Guideline 3.1.1 and Google Play Payments policy require digital content, features, functionality, subscriptions and virtual currency consumed inside the app to use Apple In-App Purchase and Google Play Billing. Physical goods, real-world services, and person-to-person experiences must not use store billing and must use an external checkout.

    Narrow, jurisdiction-gated exceptions exist — reader apps, and since 2024–2025 external-link or alternative-billing entitlements in the EU and parts of the US — but they need a specific entitlement, Store-approved disclosures, and still require transaction reporting. Assume they do not apply unless you qualify and have been approved.

    Create a table with columns: Item · Type (digital in-app / physical or real-world) · Verdict (Store billing required / External checkout required) · Guideline reference · Exception notes. List everything you will charge for now and in the next 12 months. File as classification-table.md — you will use the Verdict column in the next three steps.