What is an auto-renewable subscription?

On the App Store, each subscription lives in a subscription group, and the duration is one of 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months or 1 year. A customer can hold one subscription per group at a time. Apple keeps the same original transaction ID across every renewal, so that ID identifies the subscription for its whole life. On Google Play, one subscription product holds base plans and offers, and the purchase token identifies the purchase. A customer who resubscribes after expiry gets a new purchase token.

Your app must do three things. Give access only while the store says the subscription is paid or in a grace period. Verify purchases on your server or rely on StoreKit's own verification on Apple platforms. On Google Play, acknowledge every new purchase within three days or Google refunds it. Then listen to server notifications, because a renewal, a failed charge or a refund can happen while your app is closed.

RevenueDot keeps one record per subscription, keyed by the original transaction ID on the App Store and by the purchase token on Google Play. Every receipt from the device and every store notification updates that record, and each change becomes an event such as INITIAL_PURCHASE, RENEWAL or CANCELLATION.

Example

A $10 monthly subscription bought on March 1 renews on April 1 and May 1. If the customer turns off auto-renew on April 15, the subscription keeps working until May 1 and then expires without a new charge.

Sources: Apple: Auto-renewable subscriptions · App Store Connect Help: In-App Purchase types · Play Console Help: Understanding subscriptions · Android Developers: Subscription lifecycle