I have an app on both App Store and Google Play which offers a free trial for subscription options (monthly/yearly), or a one-time lifetime in-app-purchase. The subscription options both include a free 3 day trial.
For the most part, this works just fine. But some users get very upset when they downloaded the app for free and just want to try it for 3 days, but when they are presented with the paywall where they must choose a subscription in order to start the trial, they realise that they can’t actually try it without having a payment method on their Apple/Google account.
Even though these users are very few, they are very loud, blasting very negative 1-star reviews. I of course answer them that this is just how App Store/Google Play works, and that we as developers must follow Apples/Googles requirements. I also added an FAQ on the paywall and website, as well as in the app store description, but it hasn’t helped.
As I have understood the App Store/Google Play requirements, I MUST use their trial system when offering a subscription, and I’m not allowed to implement my own solution when it comes to offering a free trial. And that means users are required to have a valid payment method on their account in order to start a free trial. Honestly, when I think about it, if I was a regular app user who just wanted to try an app, I would probably be pissed too if it suddenly says I need to add a credit card to try the app.
How do you guys tackle this problem? Is it even a problem, or is it just me having this issue with angry customers?
