The in-app purchase flow differs from the web checkout flow in one important respect: the user may not be logged in at the time of purchase. Frisbii Media handles this by creating an anonymous purchase first, which is then associated with a customer account in a second step.
High-level flow
Steps explained
Step | What happens |
|---|---|
1 | The user completes a purchase in the App Store or Google Play using native StoreKit / Play Billing |
2 | The app sends the receipt (StoreKit v1), transaction ID (StoreKit v2), or Google purchase token to your backend |
3 | Your backend forwards the receipt to the Frisbii Media API ( |
4 | Frisbii Media validates the receipt with Apple or Google server-to-server |
5 | Frisbii Media returns an |
6 | Your backend returns the |
7 | The user logs in (or was already logged in) |
8 | Your backend calls the |
9 | The purchase is linked to the customer's Frisbii Media account and access is granted |
Parallel store callbacks
Apple and Google send server-to-server notifications to your backend continuously throughout the subscription lifecycle (renewals, cancellations, refunds). Your backend must handle these callbacks and forward them to Frisbii Media using the same add*Purchase endpoints used in step 3. This keeps the Frisbii Media subscription state in sync with the store.
Key concepts
inAppToken
A short-lived token returned by Frisbii Media after a purchase is validated. It identifies the anonymous purchase and is required for the associate call. Store it on the device or in your backend until the user logs in.
Anonymous purchase
A purchase that has been validated and recorded in Frisbii Media but is not yet linked to any customer. The user has access on that specific device via the inAppToken but the purchase is not visible in their Frisbii Media account until association.
Association
The step that permanently links an anonymous purchase to a Frisbii Media customer. After association, the purchase appears in the customer's account and is valid on all platforms.