iOS NewsStand Existing Web Subscribers

Question

Our company has an existing membership model that we use for our website. Members are able to view a bi-monthy periodical on the web. We are looking at converting this to an iOS Newsstand App. How can we create a newstand app that gives our content to our members for free but doesn't allow other users to get this content?

I feel like a newsstand app would have almost the same functionality as normal apps. So I'm thinking we could show a username/password alertview and force the user to login with a webservice. However, will Apple reject news stand apps that do this?

Any ideas/suggestions on how to provide content to existing web members only through newsstand would be appreciated.

Thanks

Answer 1

In case anyone stumbles upon this question. It looks like you can do anything you want in newsstand apps. I have seen several on the store that let you login using web credentials to unlock content.

So the short answer:

Just add a button for web customers. Use a webservice call to authenticate the user. Add app side logic to determine which issues the customer has access too.

Answer 2

You answered to your qesution but I just want to share my experience with you. You're right, you can do that, but if you don't have at least one free auto-renewal subscription Apple will reject your app.

They will let you do your own subscription inside your magazine like those giant companies that have zillion types of subscription across all the devices, but they won't let you only use newsstand kit to do that.

You should have at least a free subscription button for your users, and if it is not free, you should do the other one which you set the price and time for it.

Because your content is either free, so no point of using third-party solution for subscription and just put the free button there, or it's not. Therefore, Apple thinks about its 30% revenue from your selling and if you sell outside and take advantage of newsstand, Apple won't let you do it.

Take a look at this link and definitely those two videos. It explains everything in it:

https://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios/newsstand/