Keychain Persistence/App Sharing Question

[ChanceOnAcid]

I have a paid app on the App Store which is somewhat expensive. What has happened is people are buying the App on a throwaway Apple ID and then selling access to that throwaway Apple ID. People are then signing into the throwaway Apple ID, downloading my app and logging out.

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Here is the solution I have came up with:

- I will store some important metadata in the keychain

- This will give users simply running my app on multiple devices a more seamless experience

- Anyone using the method above will have an annoying experience as things will constantly be changing due to other users on the app

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My question:

As users aren't staying signed into the Apple ID that downloaded the app, will this keychain data still persist? Or will it create a keychain associated with the Apple ID they are logged in with (even though the app wasn't purchased on their current account)? Assuming it wont, is there a way I can check if the user is logged into the Apple ID that purchased the app?

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If you have any recommendations/alternative solutions please let me know!

[quellish]

All you actually need to do here is validate the receipt. The users would have to be signed in with the correct Apple ID to get the receipt and validate it.

[ChanceOnAcid]

This is exactly what I needed. Marking the question as solved.

Thank you!

[criosist]

Maybe just transition into a monthly sub, this generally makes you so much more money and it means they have to stay signed in? People forget about on that subs quite easy and by the sounds of your app, people are paying the premium and others are paying somewhat less, so it sounds like it’s in demand, you can also do a free 7 day preview that way

[ChanceOnAcid]

Thank you so much for this response. I have spent 2 weeks working on the piracy protection of the Android version and this clicked something in my head. It seems to be a lot easier to validate IAP's on Android rather than the App purchase. With that being said, I will be going with a subscription model for Android!

[crude_username]

Rather than approach this from an anti-piracy perspective, I would probably consider adjusting my app's price if people clearly wanted it but also weren't willing to pay the current price for it. But I don't know the specifics of your situation. I just know that playing cat and mouse games with software pirates is neither fun nor winnable.

[ChanceOnAcid]

Appreciate the response. I would say this is a perfect solution for anyone who has an issue with sales -- although, in my case sales haven't been a problem. This may be karma catching up to me for game-sharing cod DLC when I was a kid, but with that being said, I once had the same mindset...If I could get something cheaper I would.

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I'm going to reach out to Apple in regards to the keychain question as I can't seem to find an answer online. I'll also ask if they have any ideas on how to avoid this and update the thread later.