Glossary · Billing
What is a billing grace period?
Billing grace period
A billing grace period is a window after a failed renewal charge in which the subscriber keeps full access while the store tries to collect payment. If the charge succeeds in that window, the subscriber sees no gap and the developer loses no revenue. On the App Store you can choose 3, 16 or 28 days. Google Play lets you set the length.
Apple's grace period is opt-in in App Store Connect. The choices are 3, 16 or 28 days for monthly and longer plans, and weekly plans are capped at 6 days. You pick whether it applies to all renewals or only paid-to-paid renewals, and a change can take up to 24 hours to apply. When a renewal fails, Apple sends DID_FAIL_TO_RENEW with the subtype GRACE_PERIOD, and later GRACE_PERIOD_EXPIRED if the period ends unpaid. Your app must keep serving the subscription until then.
On Google Play every auto-renewing base plan has a grace period by default, and you can change its length or turn it off. Google sends SUBSCRIPTION_IN_GRACE_PERIOD when a subscription enters it. If you set 0 days, Play still waits at least one day, called a silent grace period, before it moves the subscription on. If the payment is not fixed, the subscription moves to account hold.
RevenueDot grants access until the end of the grace period when the store reports one, and shows it as in_grace_period in REST API v2. The BILLING_ISSUE event carries grace_period_expiration_at_ms. An EXPIRATION event is recorded after the grace period ends without a successful renewal.
Sources: App Store Connect Help: Enable billing grace period · Apple: Reducing involuntary subscriber churn · Apple: notificationType · Android Developers: Subscription lifecycle
FAQ
Billing grace period: questions people ask
How long is Apple's billing grace period?
3, 16 or 28 days, as you choose for the app. Weekly subscriptions are limited to 3 or 6 days. Without a grace period, Apple still retries billing for up to 60 days, but the customer should not have access during that time.
Should I enable a grace period?
Yes for most apps. Apple says that recovery inside the grace period causes no break in the days of paid service and no lost revenue, and the customer never notices the failure.
What does the customer see during a grace period?
Full access. Both stores also prompt them to fix their payment method, and your app can show its own message.
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