Apple Now Lets Developers Automatically Raise App Subscription Prices
- Laurent Giret
- May 17, 2022
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Apple is now allowing developers to raise the prices of some app subscriptions without requiring users to opt in. Until now, subscribers with an auto-renewable subscription had to opt in to the new price when developers raised it, but Apple is now changing that to prevent subscriptions to expire unintentionally.
“Currently, when an auto-renewable subscription price is increased, subscribers must opt in before the price increase is applied. The subscription doesn’t renew at the next billing period for subscribers who didn’t opt in to the new price. This has led to some services being unintentionally interrupted for users and they must take steps to resubscribe within the app, from Settings on iPhone and iPad, or in the App Store on Mac,” Apple explained yesterday.
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With the new system, developers can now offer an auto-renewable subscription price increase without requiring users to opt in, though developers still need to respect the following conditions:
- Price increases can’t occur more than once per year.
- Price increases can’t exceed US$5 and 50% of the subscription price, or US$50 and 50% for an annual subscription price.
- Price increases need to be authorized by local laws.
If these three conditions are met, users with auto-renewable subscriptions will still be notified about price increases via emails, push notifications, or in-app messages. “Apple will also notify users of how to view, manage, and cancel subscriptions if preferred,” the company emphasized.
Last but not least, nothing will change for subscription price increases that aren’t eligible for auto-renewals because they don’t meet the aforementioned conditions: Subscribers will need to opt in to the price increase before the subscription can renew.