When testing your app via TestFlight, subscription behavior differs from production in a few key ways that can lead to confusion. Here’s what to expect:

Reinstalling the app resets your identity: In TestFlight, reinstalling the app (or clearing data) resets the app’s local state. Until the user attempts a purchase, they’ll appear as a new anonymous user—even if they’ve already purchased a subscription in a previous session.

Once the user taps the purchase button:

  • StoreKit will attempt to purchase the subscription.
  • If they’re already subscribed, the system will restore the existing subscription.
  • Superwall will then receive the updated entitlement info and reflect the user as “subscribed.”
This is expected behavior in TestFlight and is not how things work in production, where the app’s receipt is usually preserved across reinstalls from the App Store.

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Subscription renewals are accelerated

Apple speeds up renewals in TestFlight to help test subscription logic faster:

  • All subscription durations (weekly, monthly, yearly, etc.) renew once per day, up to 6 times.
  • After the 6th renewal, auto-renewal is disabled.

For example, if a user starts a 1-month subscription on February 1:

  • It will renew every 24 hours through February 7.
  • On February 8, the subscription will no longer auto-renew.

Use Sandbox Apple Accounts in TestFlight to simulate renewal failures or billing retry scenarios.

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Summary

BehaviorTestFlightProduction
Reinstall resets identity✅ Yes🚫 No
Purchase triggers restore✅ Yes🚫 No
Subscription renewal🔁 Every 24 hrs (max 6)Based on plan duration
Receipt persists between installs❌ No✅ Yes

If you see unexpected subscription behavior in TestFlight, it’s often due to this accelerated lifecycle and reset state.