activeSubscriptions returns all previous user purchases

[pavelpashkovsky]

• react-native-iap version: 14.4.12
• react-native-nitro-modules: 0.29.8
• Platform: iOS
• OS version: 18.7.1
• Device: iPhone 13 Pro Max

Description: Should getActiveSubscriptions and activeSubscriptions return all previous user purchases? I'm working on implementing subscriptions support for ios app and stuck with weird behavior on getting active subscriptions for test users. In dev mode everything seems OK, but when I switch xcode scheme to Release I started to get all prev subscriptions from activeSubscriptions prop

Steps to reproduce:

1. switch to Debug mode in xcode,
2. activate any subscription from the list by calling

await requestPurchase({
        request: {
          ios: {
            sku: productId,
            andDangerouslyFinishTransactionAutomatically: false,
          },
        },
        type: 'subs',
      });

3. during timing when this sub is active I get only this sub from this list of active subscription like activeSubscriptions: [{THIS_ACTIVE_SUB}]
4. cancel this sub and wait some time until active sub expires
5. afterwards check that: activeSubscriptions: []
6. build project in Release mode by choosing this option in xcode build configuration
7. after app starts on device you can either do nothing or "buy" some sub again
8. afterwards you start getting ALL previous subscriptions for this test user in activeSubscriptions.
9. even if you don't have any active subscription at the moment you get all prev subs for some reason

Expected behavior: seems like if user doesn't have any active sub at the moment activeSubscriptions must be empty, right?

[pavelpashkovsky]

I should add that if I change test user from settings, it fetches all its previous purchase history

[hyochan]

This is a known difference between StoreKit Configuration (Debug) and Sandbox/Production (Release) environments.

The Issue

• Debug mode (StoreKit Configuration file): Returns only currently active subscriptions
• Release mode (Sandbox): Returns all previous subscription history

Why This Happens

StoreKit Configuration files behave differently from the actual Sandbox environment. According to Apple's documentation:

"The Sandbox behaves differently from StoreKit Configuration and is more similar to production."

The Transaction.currentEntitlements API that we use internally should only return active subscriptions, but there are known edge cases in Sandbox where expired subscriptions are still returned.

Workaround

Filter the results by checking isActive or expirationDateIOS:

const { activeSubscriptions } = useIAP();

// Filter to only truly active subscriptions
const trulyActive = activeSubscriptions.filter(sub => {
  // Check isActive flag
  if (!sub.isActive) return false;

  // Double-check expiration date if available
  if (sub.expirationDateIOS) {
    return sub.expirationDateIOS > Date.now();
  }

  return true;
});

Important Notes

1. Sandbox test accounts accumulate history - Each test user keeps all previous purchase history
2. Create a new sandbox account for clean testing
3. StoreKit Configuration is not production-accurate - Always test in Sandbox before release

References

• Apple: Testing at all stages of development
• Apple: Transaction.currentEntitlements
• Apple Developer Forums: StoreKit 2 currentEntitlements