This document describes MKStoreKit 2.0, a solution for allowing app reviewers and testers to activate in-app purchases without being charged. It works by checking a device's UDID against a list of exempted IDs stored in a database. The objective C code is updated to check exemption status and make test purchases, while a PHP API handles requests to check features and update the database. The author notes some limitations and plans to replace the server component with a Google Spreadsheet API in a future version.

2. In-App Purchases
How to allow reviewers to activate your in-app
purchases without being charged using MKStoreKit

3. In-App Purchases
How to allow reviewers to activate your in-app
purchases without being charged using MKStoreKit
Mugunth Kumar

4. Advantages

5. Advantages

6. Advantages
• Circumvent Piracy
• “Pirating” a in-app
purchase is like, cheating
Amazon to “ship” a book
you never ordered

7. Advantages
• Circumvent Piracy
• “Pirating” a in-app
purchase is like, cheating
Amazon to “ship” a book
you never ordered
• No more Lite versions
• Higher visibility for Pro
version as it doesn’t “sink”

8. Advantages

9. Advantages
• Up-Selling
• Easy to convince your
customers to upgrade to
full version

10. Advantages
• Up-Selling
• Easy to convince your
customers to upgrade to
full version
• My own experience
• 1:7 or 1:8 up-selling rates
• Previously 1:40

11. Problems

12. Problems
• Inability to generate promotional codes
through iTunes Connect

13. Problems
• Inability to generate promotional codes
through iTunes Connect
• Lesser chances of marketing which means
lesser visibility in AppStore.

14. Problems

15. Solution

16. Solution
MKStoreKit 2.0

17. RECAP

18. RECAP
• Prepare iTunes Connect

19. RECAP
• Prepare iTunes Connect
• Create your app

20. RECAP
• Prepare iTunes Connect
• Create your app
• Create your in-app purchases

21. RECAP
• Prepare iTunes Connect
• Create your app
• Create your in-app purchases
• Create test users

22. RECAP

23. RECAP
• Code

24. RECAP
• Code
• Enumerate list of products

25. RECAP
• Code
• Enumerate list of products
• Check if parental controls is set to
prevent purchases

26. RECAP
• Code
• Enumerate list of products
• Check if parental controls is set to
prevent purchases
• Add your transaction observer and
implement the callbacks

27. RECAP
• Code
• Enumerate list of products
• Check if parental controls is set to
prevent purchases
• Add your transaction observer and
implement the callbacks
• Serialize the receipts into
NSUserDefaults

28. RECAP

29. RECAP
• Testing

30. RECAP
• Testing
• Log out of the AppStore from
Settings.app

31. RECAP
• Testing
• Log out of the AppStore from
Settings.app
• Open your App and initiate a In-App
purchase

32. RECAP
• Testing
• Log out of the AppStore from
Settings.app
• Open your App and initiate a In-App
purchase
• Sign-in to AppStore using the test user
account

33. MKStoreKit 1.0

34. MKStoreKit 1.0

35. MKStoreKit 1.0
• To enable in-app
purchases, you can
download a copy of
MKStoreKit 1.0 from
my website.

36. MKStoreKit 1.0
• To enable in-app
purchases, you can
download a copy of
MKStoreKit 1.0 from
my website.
• Cannot activate
features for specific
devices without paying.

37. MKStoreKit 2.0

38. MKStoreKit 2.0
• Idea

39. MKStoreKit 2.0
• Idea
• Prepare a list of UDIDs to be exempted

40. MKStoreKit 2.0
• Idea
• Prepare a list of UDIDs to be exempted
• Before initiating a StoreKit purchase,
check the current device if it’s exempted

41. MKStoreKit 2.0

42. MKStoreKit 2.0

43. MKStoreKit 2.0
• Objective C
• MKStoreManager.m/h
• MKStoreObserver.m/h

44. MKStoreKit 2.0
• Objective C
• MKStoreManager.m/h
• MKStoreObserver.m/h
• PHP
• featureCheck.php
• requestAccess.php

45. MKStoreKit 2.0
• Objective C
• MKStoreManager.m/h
• MKStoreObserver.m/h
• PHP
• featureCheck.php
• requestAccess.php
• SQL Setup
• DBSetup.sql

46. MKStoreKit 2.0
• Objective C
• MKStoreManager.m/h
• MKStoreObserver.m/h
• PHP
• featureCheck.php
• requestAccess.php
• SQL Setup
• DBSetup.sql

47. Database Setup

48. Database Setup
• udid.products

49. Database Setup
• udid.products
• udid.requests

50. API Layer Setup

51. API Layer Setup
• Create a DB User and Password

52. API Layer Setup
• Create a DB User and Password
• Change the PHP files’ user and password
fields

53. API Layer Setup
• Create a DB User and Password
• Change the PHP files’ user and password
fields
• Upload the PHP to your server (preferably
to a API subdomain)

54. API Layer Setup
• Create a DB User and Password
• Change the PHP files’ user and password
fields
• Upload the PHP to your server (preferably
to a API subdomain)
• http://api.foobar.com/featureCheck.php

55. Objective C

56. Objective C

57. Objective C
• Change the
ownServer from
nil to your API
Endpoint

58. Objective C
• Change the
ownServer from
nil to your API
Endpoint
• Change the
MKStoreManager.
h/m to your own
product ids

59. Objective C
• Change the
ownServer from
nil to your API
Endpoint
• Change the
MKStoreManager.
h/m to your own
product ids
• Refactoring

60. Objective C

61. Objective C
• Call [MKStoreManager sharedManager]; in
applicationDidFinishLaunching:

62. Objective C
• Call [MKStoreManager sharedManager]; in
applicationDidFinishLaunching:
• call if([MKStoreManager featureAPurchased])
for checking whether the user has activated
the feature

63. Objective C
• Call [MKStoreManager sharedManager]; in
applicationDidFinishLaunching:
• call if([MKStoreManager featureAPurchased])
for checking whether the user has activated
the feature
• call [[MKStoreManager sharedManager]
buyFeatureA] to initiate a purchase

64. Objective C

65. Objective C
• Your reviewers will
now see this prompt

66. Objective C
• Your reviewers will
now see this prompt

67. Objective C
• Your reviewers will
now see this prompt
• Purchases are not
“remembered”

68. Objective C
• Your reviewers will
now see this prompt
• Purchases are not
“remembered”
• You can de-activate the
feature from your server
at any time

69. Requesting a review

70. Requesting a review
• Ask the reviewer for their device UDID
and add it to your database manually

71. Requesting a review
• Ask the reviewer for their device UDID
and add it to your database manually
• Ask them to fill in the UDID on a form on
your website and add it to your database
using PHP

72. Requesting a review
• Ask the reviewer for their device UDID
and add it to your database manually
• Ask them to fill in the UDID on a form on
your website and add it to your database
using PHP
• Write a separate iPhone App

73. Going Forward

74. Going Forward
• The server side settings are too
cumbersome

75. Going Forward
• The server side settings are too
cumbersome
• Not sure whether Apple would approve
this “technique”

76. Going Forward
• The server side settings are too
cumbersome
• Not sure whether Apple would approve
this “technique”
• If Apple approves, in MKStoreKit 3.0, it will
be replaced by Google SpreadSheet API

77. Going Forward
• The server side settings are too
cumbersome
• Not sure whether Apple would approve
this “technique”
• If Apple approves, in MKStoreKit 3.0, it will
be replaced by Google SpreadSheet API
• That means you will not need a server
for using in-app purchases

78. Resources

79. Resources
• http://mk.sg/31 - Enabling in-app purchases

80. Resources
• http://mk.sg/31 - Enabling in-app purchases
• http://mk.sg/1m - In-App Purchases tutorial

82. Thank You!
Questions ?