I plan to use non-renewing subscription on SaaS app since apple doesn’t allow auto-renewable for SaaS.
Apple also requires us to provide a server side mechanism to track the subscription with multiple devices.
But, based on my research, apple also seems to reject app if registration is mandatory, so such user registration must be made optional.
My app can be used without registration at start, so registering is optional at this point. But, if users want to buy non-renewing subscription, registration is mandatory to track the subscription.
Does apple reject this approach?
Related links:
app rejected.how to track user non-renewing subscription
*UPDATE
I checked the session video of WWDC2012, and it seems it is ok to ask user to register with your server BEFORE purchase for non-renewing subs. I will post an answer once they really approved this method.
*UPDATE
I got an reply from apple through Resolution Center.
The bottom line is we should allow user to buy subscriptions without registration anyway.
This is the answer from apple review team.
It would be appropriate to make registration optional. You may provide
an alert stating that the user will not be able to track a
subscription on multiple devices without registering. However, you
should provide the option to register and track a subscription after
the subscription is purchased as well.
I don’t have a definitive answer but my understanding (not just a guess) is that you must permit them to purchase the subscription without making an account. You can warn them that if they don’t make an account, their subscription won’t be portable to other devices, but you still have to let them move forward without an account if they want.
From a technical perspective, you could treat this as “you must allow the user to make an account without any personal information”; they might have an account on your server for receipt validation, etc, but it’s not tied to their name, email, udid, etc. The issue is one of privacy, so as long as it’s not personally identifiable info you’re storing, it’s fine to keep track of the subscription so you know when it expires, etc. (It’s nice to later let them enter their email if they want so they can make the subscription portable.)
Of course, what Apple approves or not changes over time and varies for other reasons, so YMMV.