Guideline 3.1.2 Subscriptions, in plain English
“clearly describe what the user will get for the price”
Guideline 3.1.2 sets the rules for auto-renewable subscriptions: they must give ongoing value, last at least seven days, work on all of the person's devices, and say clearly what people get for the price before they subscribe. Apple turns down paywalls that hide the price or the renewal terms, and removes apps that trick people into subscribing. Most 3.1.2 fixes are in the paywall's wording and its links.
Checked against Apple’s guidelines on (Apple’s version of ). Apple’s reviewers make the final call.
What Guideline 3.1.2 means
Part (a) says what a subscription can be for: things that keep coming, such as new game levels, episodic content, multiplayer, consistent substantive updates, large or growing media libraries, software as a service and cloud support. A subscription can sit alongside one-off purchases, and it can include consumable credits or discounts on them.
Apple protects people who already paid. If you move an app to a subscription model, existing customers must keep the primary functionality they bought, such as a full-game unlock. People must also get what they paid for without extra tasks like posting on social media or uploading their contacts.
Part (b) asks for smooth upgrades and downgrades, with no way to subscribe by accident to several versions of the same thing. Part (c) asks you, before asking anyone to subscribe, to describe clearly what they get for the price, such as how many issues a month, how much storage or what kind of access, and to communicate the requirements in Schedule 2 of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement.
Free trials for auto-renewable subscriptions are set up in App Store Connect. And Apple is blunt about bait-and-switch: apps that trick people into subscribing under false pretences are removed, and the developer may be removed from the Apple Developer Program.
Why apps are turned down under Guideline 3.1.2
The paywall doesn't say clearly what people get or what it costs
The price, the billing period or what the subscription includes is missing, small or hidden behind another tap, so people can't see what they're agreeing to.
The subscription doesn't offer ongoing value
It unlocks something that never changes, which fits a one-time purchase better, or the period is shorter than seven days.
The paywall is misleading
A close button that's hard to find, a free trial whose later price is buried, or wording that makes subscribing look like something else.
The reviewer couldn't try the purchase flow
The demo account already had an active subscription, so the reviewer never saw the paywall; Apple asks for one with an expired subscription.
How to fix it and resubmit
- Put the price, the billing period and what's included on the paywall itself, near the subscribe button, in readable text.
- Say that the subscription renews automatically until cancelled, and how to cancel; link the Terms of Use and the privacy policy from the paywall.
- Check the subscription offers something ongoing, lasts at least seven days and unlocks on every device the person signs in on.
- Make closing the paywall easy and keep free-trial terms as visible as the trial.
- Prepare a demo account with an expired subscription, add the products to the version, and resubmit with notes on where the paywall is.
How Borel helps
The ready-made paywall Borel writes into apps shows each plan's price for its period as the App Store returns it, and says under it that the subscription renews automatically until you cancel it in your App Store settings, at least 24 hours before the period ends. It carries Restore Purchases and links to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy that Borel hosts for the app.
The products are created in App Store Connect by Borel's publish flow, under the same IDs the app uses, and the review notes Borel drafts list each subscription with its type and product ID and say where to buy it and where to restore it.
Questions people ask
What does Apple require on a subscription paywall?
Guideline 3.1.2(c) asks you to describe clearly what people get for the price before they subscribe, and to communicate the requirements in Schedule 2 of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. In practice that means the price, the period, what's included and the renewal terms, visible before the subscribe button is pressed.
How short can a subscription period be?
At least seven days, according to Guideline 3.1.2(a).
Can I switch my paid app to a subscription?
Yes, but people who already bought the app must keep the primary functionality they paid for, as Apple's example of a full-game unlock shows.
What happens to a subscription when someone deletes their account?
Billing continues through Apple, so Apple asks you to tell them and to ask them to cancel first. The account deletion page has the details.
Related guidelines
Read more
Words on this page
Make an iPhone app that's ready for review
Describe the app you want and see its first screens before you pay anything.
See your app free