# TestFlight Subscriptions

Learn why subscriptions behave differently in TestFlight, including identity resets and accelerated renewal schedules.

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.”

> **Note**

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.



Subscription renewals are accelerated [#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](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/configuring-sandbox-environment) in TestFlight to simulate renewal failures or billing retry scenarios.

Summary [#summary]

| Behavior                          | TestFlight              | Production             |
| --------------------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
| 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.