Will IAP non-consumable products keep working if I pull my binary from the AppStore?

Question

I have a free app which is currently available on the Apple AppStore, with a non-consumable product setup for in-app purchase to enable premium features.

My client now decided they want to pull this binary from the AppStore and submit only a premium, paid version (removing IAP need).

My question is: when I pull this free binary from the AppStore, will IAP purchases keep working for those users that already had the free binary installed? Will these current users be able to purchase this non-consumable product and restore purchases?

I've tried asking this at Apple Developer Forums but, as usual, got no response.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

when I pull this free binary from the AppStore, will IAP purchases keep working for those users that already had the free binary installed?

It depends on how did you implement your purchase feature in your app.

After the user finished the purchase and the app finished verifying receipts, if you in some way saved this result locally on the device (most likely you do), then the app will work as premium version unless the app being removed or the device being wiped.

Will these current users be able to purchase this non-consumable product and restore purchases?

As far as I know, they are not able to if you remove the app from App Store. Please refer to FAQ in "Technical Note TN2259: Adding In-App Purchase to your iOS and Mac Applications":

Your product identifiers may be returned in the invalidProductIdentifiers array for one or more of the following reasons: ...

• If you or App Review rejected your most recent binary in iTunes Connect.

If you want to ensure that, in Manage In-App Purchases of iTunes Connect, edit the "premium features" IAP product and uncheck "Cleared for Sale". Please refer to iTunes Connect Developer Guide:

Cleared for Sale

Indicates whether your In-App Purchase is cleared for sale or not. If this box is unchecked, your In-App Purchase will not be available for purchase from within the app. Note that if you set Cleared for Sale to No, all settings for the In-App Purchase will still be available to edit in iTunes Connect, and you can change Cleared for Sale to Yes at a later date.