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Restoring Purchases

Apple requires all apps with in-app purchases to include a "Restore Purchases" button. This lets users recover their purchases on a new device or after reinstalling the app.

Why Restore?​

  • New device — User upgrades their phone and installs your app
  • Reinstall — User deletes and re-downloads your app
  • App Review — Apple reviewers test the restore flow during review
App Store Requirement

Apple will reject your app if it doesn't have a visible "Restore Purchases" mechanism. This is typically a button on your paywall or settings screen.

Implementation​

// On "Restore Purchases" button tap
do {
  let customerInfo = try await AppActor.shared.restorePurchases()

  if customerInfo.hasActiveEntitlement("premium") {
      showAlert("Purchases Restored", message: "Your premium access has been restored.")
  } else {
      showAlert("No Purchases Found", message: "We couldn't find any previous purchases.")
  }
} catch {
  showAlert("Restore Failed", message: error.localizedDescription)
}

What Happens During Restore​

  1. The SDK calls AppStore.sync() to sync the device with Apple's servers
  2. All verified transactions are re-processed
  3. Entitlements are rebuilt from the current transaction state
  4. Updated CustomerInfo is returned

In payment mode, the restore flow also sends all transactions to the AppActor backend:

SwiftUI Example​

struct SettingsView: View {
  @State private var isRestoring = false
  @State private var showAlert = false
  @State private var alertMessage = ""

  var body: some View {
      List {
          Section("Purchases") {
              Button(isRestoring ? "Restoring..." : "Restore Purchases") {
                  Task {
                      isRestoring = true
                      defer { isRestoring = false }

                      do {
                          let info = try await AppActor.shared.restorePurchases()
                          if info.hasActiveEntitlement("premium") {
                              alertMessage = "Your purchases have been restored!"
                          } else {
                              alertMessage = "No active purchases found."
                          }
                      } catch {
                          alertMessage = "Restore failed: \(error.localizedDescription)"
                      }
                      showAlert = true
                  }
              }
              .disabled(isRestoring)
          }
      }
      .alert("Restore Purchases", isPresented: $showAlert) {
          Button("OK") {}
      } message: {
          Text(alertMessage)
      }
  }
}

Next Steps​