In-App Purchases (IAP)

Monetize your mobile application with native Google Play Billing (Android) and Apple StoreKit (iOS) in-app purchases. Nativine embeds native billing SDKs to process digital goods, one-time product unlocks, and recurring subscriptions seamlessly.

1. Overview & Store Compliance Guidelines

Both Google Play Console and Apple App Store guidelines mandate that digital goods, digital memberships, premium feature unlocks, and subscriptions sold inside mobile apps must use native In-App Purchases rather than external credit card web forms:

• Digital Goods & Unlockables: One-time purchases to unlock premium content, remove ads, or buy virtual credits.
• Subscriptions: Weekly, monthly, or annual recurring memberships billed through Google Play / Apple ID accounts.
• Physical Goods Exception: Physical products and real-world services (e.g. ecommerce shipping, food delivery, ride-sharing) are exempt and may continue using web payment gateways (Cashfree, Stripe, PayPal).

2. No-Code App Builder Setup Guide

3. Backend Receipt Verification

Never grant premium access solely based on frontend purchase callbacks. Always send the purchaseToken to your secure backend server to verify authenticity with Google Play / Apple App Store APIs before updating your user database:

const { google } = require('googleapis');

// 1. Authenticate with Google Play Developer Service Account
const auth = new google.auth.GoogleAuth({
  keyFile: './service-account.json',
  scopes: ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/androidpublisher']
});

async function verifyGooglePlayPurchase(purchaseToken, productId, isSub = false) {
  const androidpublisher = google.androidpublisher({ version: 'v3', auth });
  const packageName = 'com.yourcompany.yourapp';

  try {
    if (isSub) {
      const res = await androidpublisher.purchases.subscriptions.get({
        packageName,
        subscriptionId: productId,
        token: purchaseToken
      });
      // paymentState: 1 = Payment received, 2 = Free trial
      return res.data.paymentState === 1 || res.data.paymentState === 2;
    } else {
      const res = await androidpublisher.purchases.products.get({
        packageName,
        productId: productId,
        token: purchaseToken
      });
      // purchaseState: 0 = Purchased
      return res.data.purchaseState === 0;
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Receipt validation failed:", error);
    return false;
  }
}

4. Frequently Asked Questions (Q&A)