Communication and promotion of offers on the App Store in the EU

In response to the recent order from the European Commission, developers have more options for digital goods or services transactions in their apps distributed on the App Store in the EU across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS. These include the ability to continue using the App Store payment processing and related commerce services as well as communicating and promoting offers in the app for digital goods or services, including steering to transactions other than App Store In-App Purchase.

Developers who use the External Purchase Link Entitlement under the updated Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU or the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement (EU) Addendum, will be able to:

Communicate and promote offers for purchases available at a destination of their choice. The destination can be a website, alternative app marketplace, or another app, and can be accessed outside the app or via a web view or native experience.
Design and execute within their apps the communication and promotion of offers. This includes providing information about prices of subscriptions or any other offer available both within or outside the app, and providing explanations or instructions about how to subscribe to offers outside the application. These communications must provide accurate information regarding the digital goods or services available for purchase.
Choose to use an actionable link that can be tapped, clicked, or scanned, to take users to their destination.
Use any number of URLs, without declaring them in the app’s Info.plist.
Implement links with additional parameters, redirects, and intermediate links to landing pages.
Move their apps to a lower tier of mandatory store services and pay a reduced store services fee.

About the communication and promotion of offers

Important considerations

Communicating and promoting offers in the app for digital goods or services can create new threats to user security and privacy, and may compromise the user experience. Developers considering use of these alternative options should understand that some OS or App Store features may not work as users expect. Helpful App Store features — like Report a Problem, Family Sharing, and Ask to Buy — will also not reflect these transactions. Users may have to share their payment information with additional parties, creating more opportunities for bad actors to steal sensitive financial information. And on the App Store, users’ purchase history and subscription management will only reflect transactions made using the App Store’s In‑App Purchase system. Apple will have less ability to support or refund customers encountering issues, scams, or fraud.

If you choose to communicate and promote offers in your application, you’re also responsible for managing payment or billing issues, taxes, and other features currently supported by the App Store’s In-App Purchase system. In addition, you’re responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations related to payment processing, cancellation of transactions, refunds, privacy, etc.

Storefront options

You can define which EU markets will use the App Store’s In‑App Purchase system, and which communicate and promote offers in the app. Due to the App Store’s tight integration with In‑App Purchase and to reduce confusion for users, you won’t be able to offer In‑App Purchase while communicating and promoting offers within the same app on the same App Store storefront and platform. If you want to continue using the App Store’s In‑App Purchase system, you may do so and no action is needed. Information about purchasing on other channels may not be included on your App Store product page.

User disclosures

To help users understand whether an app uses these alternatives, the App Store will display an informational banner on the app’s product page and a disclosure in the Information section, and the download confirmation will have an External Purchases notation.

Apps that include these options must use the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement and StoreKit External Purchase APIs to present users with the system-provided disclosure sheet that lets users know they’ll be transacting with the developer and not Apple. Users can opt out of seeing the disclosure sheet before subsequent purchases.

Store services options

The App Store’s single commission on digital goods or services is designed to reflect the many ways Apple creates value for developers. This includes everything from App Store distribution and discovery, secure payment processing, and commerce services, to the trusted and secure platforms and all the tools and technology to build and share innovative apps with users around the world.

By default, apps on the App Store are provided Store Services Tier 2, the complete suite of all capabilities designed to maximize visibility, engagement, growth, and operational efficiency. Developers with apps on the App Store in the EU that communicate and promote offers for digital goods or services can choose to move their apps to only use Store Services Tier 1 and pay a reduced store services fee.

Store Services Tier 1: This tier provides capabilities needed for app delivery, trust & safety, app management, and engagement; and features a reduced store services fee. This tier is mandatory for apps communicating and promoting offers.
Store Services Tier 2: This tier is optional, and provides additional capabilities for app delivery and management, engagement, curation & personalization, app insights, and developer marketing.

Developers can move an app between tiers on a per-app, per-storefront basis once a quarter.

To view the list of features available in the service tiers, see Store Services in the EU. If you’d like to update your app’s services tier, the Account Holder of your program membership can submit an update form.

Get started

To get started with new options to communicate and promote offers for digital goods or services for apps distributed in the EU, the Account Holder of your Apple Developer Program membership will need to agree to either the updated Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU or the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement (EU) Addendum. By agreeing to either set of terms, your account will be assigned the External Purchase Link Entitlement required to communicate and promote offers in your app. When using this entitlement, you’ll need to:

Use required StoreKit External Purchase APIs;
Follow usage requirements and specifications designed to help protect people’s privacy and security, prevent scams and fraudulent activity;
Report external purchase tokens and transactions related to the tokens using the External Purchase Server API; and
Pay applicable fees and commissions.

Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU

If you agree to the Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU, your developer account will be assigned the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement to enable the communication and promotion of offers. The agreement allows for two ways to offer digital goods or services for sale, and includes new business terms.

App Store payment processing and related commerce services: Use the In‑App Purchase system from the App Store to complete user transactions for digital goods and services within your app.
- Reduced commission. For iOS and iPadOS apps on the App Store, you’ll pay a reduced commission of either 10% (for the vast majority of developers and for subscriptions after their first year) or 17% on transactions for digital goods and services, regardless of the payment processing system selected.
- Payment processing fee. Apps on the App Store can use App Store payment processing and commerce capabilities for an additional 3% fee.
Communication and promotion of offers: Communicate and promote offers, including steering to transactions other than App Store In-App Purchase, to end users regarding digital goods or services that are available for purchase in a distribution channel of your choice. The distribution channel can be a website, alternative app marketplace, or another app, whether operated by you or someone else, and it can be accessed outside the app, or appear within the app in a web view or native experience. In addition, you may choose to take users to the destination using an actionable link (i.e., a link that can be tapped, clicked, or scanned).
- Initial acquisition fee. The initial acquisition fee applies when a customer purchases a digital good or service using an actionable link from your app within a 6 month period after their initial unpaid download of your app. The fee reflects the capabilities the App Store provides when connecting developers with customers in the EU.
- Store services fee. In addition to the initial acquisition fee, you’ll pay Apple a fee on all sales of digital goods or services that occur within a 12-month period from the date of an install, including app updates and reinstalls, after you make your app available with the entitlement profile to communicate and promote offers. This reflects the ongoing services and capabilities that Apple provides developers, including app distribution and management; App Store trust and safety; re-discovery, re-engagement, and promotional tools and services; app insights, and more.

The initial acquisition fee and store services fees do not apply to auto-renewals of subscriptions entered into previously, or to sales made pursuant to your use of the App Store’s In-App Purchase system. Reduced fees apply to:

Developers enrolled in the App Store Small Business Program
Auto-renewing subscriptions beyond one year
Apps that use only Store Services - Tier 1

Store Services - Tier 1

For apps using mandatory store services

Commission/Fee	Rate	Program Rate*	Description
Initial acquisition fee	2%	0%	Within 6 months after the first install of your app.
Store services fee	5%	5%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.
Core Technology Fee (CTF)	€0.50	€0.50	iOS and iPadOS apps that exceed 1 million first annual installs per year distributed on the App Store, Web Distribution, and/or an alternative app marketplace.

Store Services - Tier 2

For apps using optional store services

Commission/Fee	Rate	Program Rate*	Description
Initial acquisition fee	2%	0%	Within 6 months after the first install of your app.
Store services fee	13%	10%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.
Core Technology Fee (CTF)	€0.50	€0.50	iOS and iPadOS apps that exceed 1 million first annual installs per year distributed on the App Store, Web Distribution, and/or an alternative app marketplace.

*For App Store Small Business Program participants or subscriptions after their first year.

Core Technology Fee (CTF). For iOS and iPadOS apps distributed on the App Store, Web Distribution, and/or an alternative app marketplace that exceed 1 million first annual installs per year, you’ll pay €0.50 for each first annual install. Membership in the Apple Developer Program includes 1 million first annual installs per year for free for each of your apps in the EU.

Learn more about the CTF

StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement (EU) Addendum

If you agree to this addendum to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, your developer account will be assigned the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement. The agreement allows the ability to communicate and promote offers for purchases of digital goods or services for apps distributed on the App Store in the EU and includes new business terms for those transactions.

Communication and promotion of offers: Communicate and promote offers, including steering to transactions other than App Store In-App Purchase, to end users regarding digital goods or services that are available for purchase in a distribution channel of your choice. The distribution channel can be a website, alternative app marketplace, or another app, whether operated by you or someone else, and it can be accessed outside the app, or appear within the app in a web view or native experience. In addition, you may choose whether to take users to the destination using an actionable link (i.e., a link that can be tapped, clicked, or scanned).

Initial acquisition fee. The initial acquisition fee applies when a customer purchases a digital goods or services using an actionable link from your app within a 6-month period after their initial unpaid download of your app. The fee reflects the capabilities the App Store provides when connecting developers with customers in the EU.
Store services fee. In addition to the initial acquisition fee, you’ll pay Apple a fee on all sales of digital goods or services that occur within a 12-month period from the date of an install, including app updates and reinstalls. This reflects the ongoing services and capabilities that Apple the App Store provides developers, including tools and technologies; app distribution and management; App Store trust and safety; re-discovery, re-engagement, and promotional tools and services; app insights, and more.
Core Technology Commission. You’ll also pay Apple a fee on all sales of digital goods or services that occur within a 12-month period from the date of an install, including app updates and reinstalls. This fee reflects value Apple provides developers through ongoing investments in tools, technologies, and services that enable them to build and share innovative apps with users.

The initial acquisition fee, store services fees, and Core Technology Commission on these options do not apply to transactions made outside your app that were communicated and promoted without an actionable link, auto-renewals of subscriptions entered into previously, or to sales made pursuant to your use of the App Store’s In-App Purchase system. Reduced fees apply to:

Developers enrolled in the App Store Small Business Program
Auto-renewing subscriptions beyond one year
Apps that use only Store Services - Tier 1

Store Services - Tier 1

For apps using mandatory store services

Commission/Fee	Rate	Program Rate*	Description
Initial acquisition fee	2%	0%	Within 6 months after the first install of your app.
Store services fee	5%	5%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.
Core Technology Commission (CTC)	5%	5%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.

Store Services - Tier 2

For apps using optional store services

Commission/Fee	Rate	Program Rate*	Description
Initial acquisition fee	2%	0%	Within 6 months after the first install of your app.
Store services fee	13%	10%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.
Core Technology Commission (CTC)	5%	5%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.

*For App Store Small Business Program participants or subscriptions after their first year.

Usage requirements

In addition to using the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement and required StoreKit External Purchase APIs when communicating and promoting offers to users for other channels to purchase digital goods or services, you’ll need to follow usage requirements designed to help protect people’s privacy and security, prevent scams and fraudulent activity, and maintain the overall quality of the user experience. Follow these usage requirements:

Communicating and promoting offers for digital goods or services within your app

These options cannot be used on the same EU storefront and platform where your app uses the App Store In‑App Purchase system.
Your in‑app user flow may not contain any hidden, dormant, or undocumented payment functionality or behavior.
Check and confirm that the user is in an EU storefront and can make payments.
Provide accurate information regarding the digital goods and services available for purchase on the channel.
Don’t include Information about purchasing on other channels on your App Store product page.
Ensure that all digital goods or services sold which are marketed as being for use in an app must be available for use in that app.

If your app engages in misleading marketing practices, such as bait and switch, scams, or fraud, it will be removed from the App Store and you may be removed from the Apple Developer Program.

Checking eligibility

You’ll need to determine eligibility using the ExternalPurchaseCustomLink.isEligible property. For apps running on an earlier OS than iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, macOS 15.1, tvOS 18.1, visionOS 2.1, and watchOS 11.1, you’ll need to manually implement the eligibility check following these steps in an app that has the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement:

Check canMakePayments. If the value is false, the customer can’t authorize payments and eligibility fails; don’t present external purchases. If the value is true, continue to the next step.
Check that the app is running in a storefront where external purchase links are allowed, and where your app supports external purchases. Get the current value of the Storefront API, and check its countryCode value. The allowed regions are: Austria (at), Belgium (be), Bulgaria (bg), Croatia (hr), Cyprus (cy), Czechia (cz), Denmark (dk), Estonia (ee), Finland (fi), France (fr), Germany (de), Greece (gr), Hungary (hu), Ireland (ie), Italy (it), Latvia (lv), Lithuania (lt), Luxembourg (lu), Malta (mt), Netherlands (nl), Poland (pl), Portugal (pt), Romania (ro), Slovakia (sk), Slovenia (si), Spain (es), Sweden (se)
Eligibility succeeds if the current storefront is within the allowed regions, and your app supports external purchases in the same region. Otherwise, eligibility fails.

In-app disclosure sheet

When taking users to their destination using an actionable link (i.e., a link that can be tapped, clicked, or scanned), your app must use the ExternalPurchaseCustomLink API to display a system-provided disclosure sheet that explains to the user they’ll be transacting with the developer and not Apple.

By tapping the Continue button, users will be directed to the developer’s preferred channel.
Users are given the option to not show the disclosure sheet before subsequent purchases with "Show This Reminder Next Time?" modal dialog.

Design resources

Account screen

App page

Developers may design the promotion and communication of offers within their apps. Apple is providing the following optional templates for various use cases as a resource for your apps. These templates follow the Plain Button style, as specified in the Human Interface Guidelines, and are localized in 40 locales.

Purchase template:

Purchase from the website at www.example.com

Special offer template:

For special offers, go to www.example.com

For a special offer, go to www.example.com

Lower price template:

Lower prices offered on www.example.com

Lower price offered on www.example.com

Percent off template:

To get XX% off, go to www.example.com

Specific price template:

Buy for $X.XX at www.example.com

Entitlements and implementation

You can choose to use the App Store’s In‑App Purchase system or use options to communicate and promote offers for digital goods or services per EU storefront and per-app, which you can update by changing the entitlement election in Xcode by updating the property list key with a new app submission.

Configure and enable the entitlement in Xcode

Once the entitlement is assigned to your account and you’ve configured the App ID in Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles to support this entitlement, you’ll need to update your Xcode project, entitlements property list, and Info.plist file to list the entitlement and metadata.

The Entitlement Profile is compatible with and may only be used in apps on EU storefronts on devices running a minimum of iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS 14.4, tvOS 17.4, visionOS 1.2, and watchOS 10.4.

Enable the entitlement in the Xcode Capability library or on the developer website.
Provide the following values for the entitlements:
1. Key: com.apple.developer.storekit.external-purchase-link
2. Type: Boolean
3. Value: True

On the next build to your device or distribution request in Xcode Organizer, Xcode will detect that the .entitlements file and cached provisioning profile don’t match, and will request a new provisioning profile based on the latest App ID configuration to complete the code signing process.

Set up SKExternalPurchaseCustomLinkRegions

Select the Info.plist file from the Project Navigator in your OS target.
Provide the following values for this property list key:
1. Key: SKExternalPurchaseCustomLinkRegions
2. Type: Array of strings

Include an entry for each country code where your app supports communicating and promoting offers.

The valid EU country codes are: Austria (at), Belgium (be), Bulgaria (bg), Croatia (hr), Cyprus (cy), Czechia (cz), Denmark (dk), Estonia (ee), Finland (fi), France (fr), Germany (de), Greece (gr), Hungary (hu), Ireland (ie), Italy (it), Latvia (lv), Lithuania (lt), Luxembourg (lu), Malta (mt), Netherlands (nl), Poland (pl), Portugal (pt), Romania (ro), Slovakia (sk), Slovenia (si), Spain (es), Sweden (se)

Implement StoreKit External Purchase APIs

Configure the com.apple.developer.storekit.external-purchase-link entitlement for your app.
Configure the SKExternalPurchaseCustomLinkRegions property list key. Include the country code for each permitted region where your app offers external purchase custom links.
Check the isEligible property of the ExternalPurchaseCustomLink type to determine whether external purchase is available.
At launch, call the token(for:) function to request the external purchase tokens, using the token types ACQUISITION and SERVICES. Associate these tokens with a customer account on your server.
Call the showNotice(type:) function after a deliberate customer interaction, such as tapping a button, and before linking out to external purchases.
From your server, report the external purchase tokens and the transactions associated with the tokens by using the External Purchase Server API.

Submitting your app for review in App Store Connect

When submitting your new app binary for review in App Store Connect, make sure to follow these submission requirements as well as the Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU or the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement (EU) Addendum, the App Review Guidelines, and the Apple Developer Program License Agreement.

Your app is properly implemented and tested.
If you use an alternative PSP, the name of your payment service provider (PSP) should be included in the review notes. Make sure the PSP is ready to complete transactions from your app. Your PSP must:
- Meet Level 1 Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance for handling credit and debit card data; and
- Make a customer service process available for users, including a process to dispute unauthorized transactions, manage subscriptions (if applicable), and request refunds.

If your submission is incomplete, review times may be delayed or your app may be rejected. Once your app has been reviewed, its status will update in App Store Connect and you’ll be notified.

Commissions, transaction reporting, and payments

Commissions

Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU

Sales of digital goods or services in the EU using Apple’s In-App Purchase system are subject to a commission under the terms of the Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU.

Type	Description	iOS, iPadOS	macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS
App Store Commission	For paid apps, and in-app purchases of digital goods or services, the following rates apply.	17%	27%
	If you’re enrolled in the App Store Small Business Program or renew a qualifying auto-renewal subscription beyond one year, the following reduced commission rates apply.	10%	12%
	If you’re enrolled in the Apple Video Partner Program or News Partner Program, the following reduced commission rates apply. The App Store payment processing fee of 3% also applies.	10%	12%
Payment processing fee	When using the App Store payment processing and related commerce services for in-app purchases, the following fees apply. This fee also applies to all paid apps.	3%	3%
Core Technology Fee	For iOS and iPadOs apps distributed on the App Store, Web Distribution, and/or an alternative app marketplace that reach significant scale, you’ll pay for each first annual install over 1 million first annual installs. For more details, view documentation.	€0.50	No fee

Communication and promotion of offers. If your App Store app communicates and promotes offers for digital goods or services for end users at a destination of your choice, including steering to non-App Store In-App Purchase transactions, those transactions are subject to an initial acquisition fee and an ongoing store services fee. This includes any adjustments for refunds, reversals and chargebacks.

Store Services - Tier 1

For apps using mandatory store services

Commission/Fee	Rate	Program Rate*	Description
Initial acquisition fee	2%	0%	Within 6 months after the first install of your app.
Store services fee	5%	5%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.
Core Technology Fee (CTF)	€0.50	€0.50	iOS and iPadOS apps that exceed 1 million first annual installs per year distributed on the App Store, Web Distribution, and/or an alternative app marketplace.

Store Services - Tier 2

For apps using optional store services

Commission/Fee	Rate	Program Rate*	Description
Initial acquisition fee	2%	0%	Within 6 months after the first install of your app.
Store services fee	13%	10%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.
Core Technology Fee (CTF)	€0.50	€0.50	iOS and iPadOS apps that exceed 1 million first annual installs per year distributed on the App Store, Web Distribution, and/or an alternative app marketplace.

*For App Store Small Business Program participants or subscriptions after their first year.

StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement (EU) Addendum

Communication and promotion of offers. If your App Store app communicates and promotes offers for digital goods or services for end users at a destination of your choice, including steering to non-App Store In-App Purchase transactions, those transactions are subject to an initial acquisition fee, an ongoing store services fee, and Core Technology Commission. This includes any adjustments for refunds, reversals and chargebacks.

Store Services - Tier 1

For apps using mandatory store services

Commission/Fee	Rate	Program Rate*	Description
Initial acquisition fee	2%	0%	Within 6 months after the first install of your app.
Store services fee	5%	5%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.
Core Technology Commission (CTC)	5%	5%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.

Store Services - Tier 2

For apps using optional store services

Commission/Fee	Rate	Program Rate*	Description
Initial acquisition fee	2%	0%	Within 6 months after the first install of your app.
Store services fee	13%	10%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.
Core Technology Commission (CTC)	5%	5%	Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall.

*For App Store Small Business Program participants or subscriptions after their first year.

For auto-renewable subscriptions, the initial acquisition fee classifies a transaction as a sale occurring within a 6-month period after an initial install, including each auto-renewal within the 6-month period. For the store services fee and Core Technology Commission, a transaction is classified as a sale occurring within 12-months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall, and the fee will apply to each subscription sale and/or auto-renewal occurring during that period. Renewals of auto-renewing subscriptions that were initiated before the user installed the app with the communication or promotion of offers are not classified as transactions for either the initial acquisition fee, store services fee, or Core Technology Commission.

Taxes

These commission rates apply to all prices payable by each user minus any transaction taxes charged by the app. You are responsible for the collection and remittance of any applicable taxes for sales processed by an alternative payment provider. For additional details, view App Store Connect Help.

Transaction reporting

If your app adopts the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement, you’re required to use the External Purchase Server API to report transactions to Apple for applicable commission and fee calculation and collection purposes. Required reporting includes refunds, corrections, renewals, one-time purchases, and transactions which didn’t result in a purchase.

If your app is communicating and promoting offers for digital goods or services at a distribution channel of your choice using the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement, you’re required to send a report to Apple recording all sales of digital goods or services made on any platform. You need to provide this report monthly, within 15 calendar days following the end of Apple’s fiscal month.

Payments

You’ll receive a monthly invoice based on the reporting for commissionable transactions for digital goods or services for which commission or fees are owed. Transactions will be aggregated and commissions calculated by Apple by the 15th of the following month. You’ll need to provide payment within 30 days of receiving the invoice. For additional details, view App Store Connect Help.

Please note that Apple has audit rights pursuant to the Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU and StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement (EU) Addendum. This will allow Apple to review the accuracy of your record of digital transactions as a result of the entitlement, ensuring the appropriate commission and fees have been paid to Apple. Late payments accrue interest and nonpayment may result in the offset of App Store In‑App Purchase proceeds owed to you, removal of the app from the App Store, or removal from the Apple Developer Program.

Supporting customers

If your app adopts either of these entitlements, it’s your responsibility to provide timely support to customers if questions or issues arise. Apple won’t be able to assist customers with refunds, purchase history, subscription management, and other issues encountered when purchasing digital goods and services. You’ll be responsible for addressing these issues with customers directly.

Q&A

Can I communicate and promote offers for digital goods or services for a single EU country only, and use the App Store In‑App Purchases system for the rest of Europe and the world?

Yes. You may choose which EU storefronts use the App Store In‑App Purchase system or alternatives. For more information, see SKExternalPurchase. Due to the App Store’s tight integration with In‑App Purchase, and to reduce confusion for users, you may not offer both App Store In‑App Purchase and alternatives to users in your app on the same App Store storefront.

If a customer purchases a subscription using the App Store In‑App Purchase system, and the next version of the app supports transactions other than App Store In-App Purchase, how is the customer billed for subscription renewals?

Subscriptions will continue to renew on the payment processing system used when the subscription started. In this example, the customer’s subscription would continue to use the App Store In‑App Purchase system until the subscription becomes inactive or the customer makes a new selection. You shouldn’t merchandize the same subscription to a user who already subscribed on the App Store In‑App Purchase system, as they’ll be double charged for the same service.

If I start communicating and promoting offers for digital goods or services instead of the App Store In‑App Purchase system, will my users be charged twice for their subscriptions or In‑App Purchases?

Subscriptions will continue to renew on the payment system where the subscription originated. When customers update their app to the version that supports alternatives, one-time purchases from that point forward occur with alternatives and not on the App Store In‑App Purchase system.

If I previously offered digital goods or services using App Store payment processing and start using alternatives, how will I be charged?

Due to the App Store’s tight integration with In-App Purchase, and to reduce confusion for users, developers may not offer both In-App Purchase and alternatives to purchase to users in their App Store app on the same storefront. Once you stop offering In-App Purchases to users and communicate and promote offers for digital goods or services, you may continue to earn revenue from legacy auto-renewing subscriptions, which will continue to be charged the appropriate commission and App Store payment processing fee. Transactions made via alternatives will be charged the appropriate commission and fees.

Can customers still use the App Store In‑App Purchase system if they’re running earlier OS versions or haven’t updated my app to the latest version that supports transactions other than App Store In-App Purchase?

Anyone running an OS version earlier than iOS 17.4 or an earlier version of your app that only supports App Store In-App Purchase system can keep using the App Store In‑App Purchase system at the reduced App Store commission and payment processing fee. Once a customer updates to iOS 17.4 and the latest app version, they can take advantage of the new alternatives. Please note that apps can’t use the App Store In‑App Purchase system and alternatives in the same storefront and OS (including the same OS version and app version) at the same time.

Will I need to pay an initial acquisition fee or store services fee on subscriptions that began before I added the entitlement to my app?

No, auto-renewals of subscriptions that began before you include the entitlement in your app do not qualify for an initial acquisition fee or store services fee, or Core Technology Commission if applicable. If any of those existing subscribers begin a new subscription after you’ve added the entitlement, then the initial acquisition and/or store services fees and Core Technology Commission will apply, as long as the purchases and/or renewals occur within a 6-month period for initial acquisition fee or 12-month period for store services fee and Core Technology Commission after an install, reinstall, or update.

How long do I need to pay the store services fee and Core Technology Commission on my auto-renewable subscription plans?

Whenever a user installs, reinstalls, or updates to a version of your app with the entitlement, the store services fee and Core Technology Commission applies to all new subscription sales and renewals occurring within 12 months of that install, reinstall, or update. If the user doesn’t install, reinstall, or update your app with the entitlement again after 12 months, then the store services fee and Core Technology Commission will expire. If the user installs, reinstalls, or updates your app again after the initial 12-month window had ended, then another 12-month window will start and the Store Services fee and Core Technology Commission will apply again to each subscription sale and/or auto-renewal occurring during that new window.