How to Configure Subscription Groups in the BuddyBoss App

Subscription Groups let you bundle related subscription products so that users can only hold one active subscription per group which is perfect for tiered plans (Bronze/Silver/Gold) or different durations (Monthly/Yearly). When a member buys a second product in the same group, their first subscription is automatically canceled, ensuring seamless upgrades and plan changes.

Why Use Subscription Groups?

• Tiered Plans: Offer Bronze, Silver, and Gold memberships without overlap.
  
• Duration Variations: Sell monthly, quarterly, or yearly options without mixing them.
  
• Auto-Upgrade/Downgrade: Automatically cancel the old plan when a new one is bought.

Key Information

When creating an iOS in-app purchase, Apple requires that all in-app purchases (products) that are of the type Auto-renewable Subscription be added into a subscription group, and at the same time, Apple does not allow any other product types to be added into subscription groups. For this reason, BuddyBoss App can only support subscription groups for subscription-type products. You can read this article from Apple for more information.

However, when creating an Android subscription, Android does not provide any built-in support for subscription groups. It is expected that developers will provide this type of logic in their app’s code. This is the reason that we have a Subscription Groups setting in the BuddyBoss App plugin. To get a consistent experience for both your iOS and Android users, you will need to copy the subscription groups from your App Store Connect into the plugin, and assign the iOS and Android products into the correct matching subscription groups.

Creating Your Apple Subscription Groups

1. Log into App Store Connect
   
2. Click on My Apps, and then select your app
   
3. Under In-App Purchases, click on Subscription Groups
   
4. Make a note of all subscription groups, which you will copy in the next step…
   
5. In your website admin, go to BuddyBoss App > In-App Purchases
   
6. Click the tab for Subscription Groups
   
7. Copy and paste every subscription group from your Apple account

Adding Groups in Your BuddyBoss App

1. In WordPress, go to BuddyBoss App > In-App Purchases.
   
2. Click the Subscription Groups tab.
   
3. For each Apple group you noted, click Add New Subscription Group, paste the name, and save.
   

Assigning Products to Groups

1. Back in BuddyBoss App > In-App Purchases, switch to the Products tab.
   
2. Click Add (or Edit) next to a subscription product.
   
3. Ensure Product Type is set to Auto-Renewable Subscription for iOS and Subscription for Android.
   
4. Under Subscription Group, select the matching group name you added.
   
5. Click Update Product.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Q: My Android subscriptions aren’t grouped.
A: Android doesn’t support groups natively. Make sure you manually copied and assigned the same groups in the plugin.

Q: A user still has two active plans.
A: Double-check each product’s Subscription Group setting; they must exactly match your App Store Connect group names.

Q: I added non-subscription products to a group by mistake.
A: Only subscription-type products may belong to groups. Remove any consumable or non-renewing subscriptions from those groups.