Guideline 3.1.1 In-App Purchase rejections and external links

What does Guideline 3.1.1 require?

3.1.1 makes Apple's in-app purchase the only way to unlock digital features inside an app. The core sentence (App Review Guidelines, last updated October 16, 2026):

"If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency wallets, etc."

The same section adds rules that cause rejections on their own:

Credits or in-game currencies bought with in-app purchase "may not expire", and you should have a restore mechanism for restorable purchases.
Loot boxes and other randomized paid items "must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item to customers prior to purchase."
Digital gift cards, certificates, vouchers and coupons redeemable for digital goods "can only be sold in your app using in-app purchase." Physical gift cards mailed to customers may use other payment.
Tips to the developer or content providers may use in-app purchase currencies.
A free time-based trial for a non-subscription app uses a Non-Consumable item at Price Tier 0 named "XX-day Trial", and the app must state the duration, what stops working and any later charges before the trial starts.

What needs in-app purchase and what doesn't?

The test is where the purchase is used: inside the app as digital content or features, or outside it.

What you sell	Payment rule	Guideline
Subscriptions, premium features, full unlock	In-app purchase	3.1.1
In-game currency, levels, extra lives	In-app purchase	3.1.1
Digital gift cards or vouchers for digital goods	In-app purchase	3.1.1
Paid boosts for posts shown in the same app	In-app purchase	3.1.3(g)
Magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video bought elsewhere ("reader" apps)	May give access to prior purchases; account link only with the External Link Account Entitlement, except on the US storefront	3.1.3(a)
Content bought on your website or another platform	May be accessed in the app, if those items are also available as in-app purchases in the app	3.1.3(b)
Software sold only to organizations for employees or students	May give access to prior purchases; consumer, single user or family sales use in-app purchase	3.1.3(c)
Real-time service between two individuals (tutoring, medical consultation, fitness training)	May use other payment; one-to-few and one-to-many live services use in-app purchase	3.1.3(d)
Physical goods or services consumed outside the app	Must use other payment, such as Apple Pay or card entry	3.1.3(e)
Free companion to a paid web tool for VoIP, cloud storage, email or web hosting	No in-app purchase needed, if there is no purchasing or purchase call to action	3.1.3(f)
Apps only for buying and managing ad campaigns across media	No in-app purchase needed	3.1.3(g)
Features that depend on specific hardware	May unlock without in-app purchase in limited cases	3.1.4

Apps in 3.1.3 "cannot, within the app, encourage users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase, except for apps on the United States storefront and as set forth in 3.1.1(a) and 3.1.3(a)." You may still contact your users outside the app about other purchasing methods.

What does 3.1.1(a) say about links to other purchase methods?

3.1.1(a) lets developers apply for entitlements to link out, and exempts the United States storefront from needing one. The exact text:

"3.1.1(a) Link to Other Purchase Methods: Developers may apply for entitlements to provide a link in their app to a permitted destination in order to purchase digital content or services. These entitlements are not required for developers to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action in their United States storefront apps."

On the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlements, the guideline says apps "in specific regions" may offer in-app purchase and also link to a permitted destination, that approved destinations "may vary by region", and that the entitlements are "limited to use only in specific storefronts of the App Store, and only on certain platforms in each of those storefronts." Then:

"In all other storefronts, except for the United States storefront, where this prohibition does not apply, apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase."

So a "Buy on our website" button is a 3.1.1 rejection in a storefront where you hold no entitlement, unless it is the United States storefront. The same applies to your description and screenshots, since the rule covers metadata. Misleading marketing, scams or fraud around an entitlement lead to removal from the App Store.

What do 3.1.2(a) and 3.1.2(c) require from subscriptions?

3.1.2(a) sets the floor for any auto-renewable subscription:

"If you offer an auto-renewable subscription, you must provide ongoing value to the customer, and the subscription period must last at least seven days and be available across all of the user's devices."

Apple's examples of appropriate subscriptions include new game levels, episodic content, multiplayer support, apps with consistent substantive updates, large or continually updated media collections, software as a service and cloud support. Further rules in the same part: subscriptions "must work on all of the user's devices where the app is available"; people must get what they paid for without extra tasks such as posting on social media or uploading contacts; and when you move an app to subscriptions, "you should not take away the primary functionality existing users have already paid for."

3.1.2(c) Subscription Information:

"Before asking a customer to subscribe, you should clearly describe what the user will get for the price. How many issues per month? How much cloud storage? What kind of access to your service? Ensure you clearly communicate the requirements described in Schedule 2 of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement."

3.1.2(b) adds that upgrades and downgrades should be seamless, so people cannot subscribe to several variations of the same thing by accident.

How do you fix a 3.1.1 rejection?

Find what the reviewer flagged: an unlock outside in-app purchase, an external purchase link, a price or "buy on web" line in metadata, or a missing restore option.
Move every digital unlock used in the app to in-app purchase. Remove license-key, code or QR unlocks.
Remove buttons, links and wording that point to other payment in storefronts where you hold no entitlement. Check the description, screenshots and promotional text too.
If you rely on an exception (reader app, person-to-person service, physical goods), say which part of 3.1.3 applies in App Review notes.
Add a restore purchases option, and make sure purchased currency never expires.
Disclose loot box odds before purchase.
On the paywall, state what the subscription includes, the price and the period before the subscribe button.
Confirm the Paid Apps Agreement is active and test every product in the sandbox. Paid purchases do not work in review until the agreement is in effect.
If a purchase is limited to some storefronts or appears only after a step, write that in Notes, as 2.1(b) asks.

The Guideline 2.1 guide covers purchases the reviewer cannot find, the Guideline 5.1.1 guide covers subscription notices during account deletion, and the minimum functionality guide covers apps that are mainly a web checkout. The rejection reasons hub lists the rest.

Where Uptika fits

Uptika does not check your payment code or resolve rejections. It helps with the text side: Guideline 2.3.7 also forbids pricing information in names, subtitles and screenshots. The free Metadata Linter flags prices, "free" claims and other risky words in your name, subtitle and keyword field, and the panel's Sayfa denetimi (page audit) runs the same rejection-risk check on your live listing. Start on the free plan.

Questions

What is Guideline 3.1.1 In-App Purchase?

It says that if you want to unlock features or functionality within your app (subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content or a full version), you must use in-app purchase, and you may not use your own unlock mechanisms such as license keys, QR codes or cryptocurrencies.

Can I link to my website for payments?

It depends on the storefront. 3.1.1(a) lets developers apply for entitlements to link to a permitted destination in specific regions. Those entitlements are not required for buttons, external links or other calls to action in United States storefront apps. In all other storefronts without an entitlement, apps and their metadata may not include calls to action that direct customers to other purchasing methods.

Do digital goods require IAP?

Digital content or features used inside the app do, including digital gift cards and post boosts in a social app. Physical goods and services consumed outside the app must use other methods, and reader apps, multiplatform access, enterprise sales, one-to-one live services and some companion apps have their own rules in 3.1.3.

What are the subscription rules in 3.1.2?

An auto-renewable subscription must provide ongoing value, last at least seven days and be available across all of the user's devices. Before asking someone to subscribe, describe clearly what they get for the price, and do not take away functionality existing users already paid for.

Do in-game currencies bought with IAP expire?

No. 3.1.1 says credits or in-game currencies purchased via in-app purchase may not expire, and you should provide a restore mechanism for restorable purchases.

Guideline 3.1.1 In-App Purchase rejections: what needs IAP and what doesn't