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Free/Lite version can’t up-sell (tricky)

[…] Lite cannot be posted because it is a feature-limited version. Free or “Lite” versions are acceptable, however the application must be a fully functional app and cannot reference features that are not implemented or up-sell to the full version.

(via App Rejected)

This is tricky and easy to misinterpret, but here’s what it most likely means:

  • You can have a free version of your app with fewer features than the paid version.
  • The free version must be a complete app in its own right.
  • You can not badger the free app’s users with reminders to upgrade to the paid version.
  • You can not, for example, have placeholders in the interface for the missing functionality in the free version that pop up a dialog saying that the feature is only in the paid version.

This policy is loosely defined, but Apple’s enforcement hasn’t seemed to change since the App Store’s launch, so it seems mostly stable.