Questions About Automatic Subscription Lifecycle Events in Firebase Analytics (StoreKit 2, in_app_purchase, app_store_subscription_convert) #15586

ibrahimdevs · 2025-12-10T08:13:34Z

ibrahimdevs
Dec 10, 2025

Hi everyone,
I’m working on subscription tracking for iOS using Firebase Analytics, and I have a few questions regarding how subscription lifecycle events are automatically sent — especially when using StoreKit 2. I want to clarify these points so I can properly configure my Google Ads campaigns.

1. `in_app_purchase` event — not sent automatically on iOS with StoreKit 2?

Based on the documentation, it seems that the in_app_purchase event is not automatically logged when using StoreKit 2:

https://firebase.google.com/docs/analytics/measure-in-app-purchases#implementation-apple

I also verified this in the Firebase dashboard — for iOS, this event is almost never logged, which matches what the documentation says.

So my question is:
Do we need to manually send the in_app_purchase event ourselves after a successful purchase when StoreKit 2 is in use?

2. Why is `app_store_subscription_convert` still being logged on iOS even though `in_app_purchase` is not?

Even though StoreKit 2 is in use and in_app_purchase is not automatically logged, I still see app_store_subscription_convert events appearing in the dashboard for iOS.
Is this expected behavior?

According to Google’s documentation:

https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9234069

“Requires an initial subscription that was made on or after July 1, 2019. An initial free-trial subscription is logged as an in_app_purchase with the subscription parameter set to true.”

This suggests that if in_app_purchase is not automatically logged, then app_store_subscription_convert should also not be logged automatically.
But I do see it being logged.

Is this event still automatically collected even without the in_app_purchase event being present?
Or is there some kind of fallback behavior happening here?

3. How exactly does `app_store_subscription_convert` decide when to fire?

Since this event is sent by the SDK, I want to confirm the logic behind when it is triggered.

My understanding:

The event is only sent if the user opens the app after the trial converts.
Example:
- 10 users convert from trial to paid today
- Only 6 of them open the app afterwards
- The other 4 never open the app again
In this case, does Firebase only log app_store_subscription_convert for those 6 users?

I want to confirm whether this understanding is correct.

Thanks in advance!

If anyone has insights or can clarify how Firebase handles these events under StoreKit 2, it would be extremely helpful.
Thanks!
@paulb777 @ncooke3 @andrewheard

Answered by htcgh

May 1, 2026

Hi @ibrahimdevs. Sorry for the late response. This discussion was recently brought to my attention.

Do we need to manually send the in_app_purchase event ourselves after a successful purchase when StoreKit 2 is in use?

Yes, to send the in_app_purchase event for purchases initiated by StoreKit 2, you will need to manually call Analytics.logTransaction(transaction).

Is the app_store_subscription_convert event still automatically collected even without the in_app_purchase event being present?

The Analytics SDK still falls back on the StoreKit 1 transaction observer API. Upon observing an incoming subscription renewal, it checks the IAP receipt for that subscription's previous transaction…

View full answer

TaylorDale · 2026-04-26T15:44:26Z

TaylorDale
Apr 26, 2026

Wild that these questions don't get answered seeing as it's vital information if you're running tROAS UA via Google.

0 replies

htcgh · 2026-05-01T21:28:17Z

htcgh
May 1, 2026
Collaborator

Hi @ibrahimdevs. Sorry for the late response. This discussion was recently brought to my attention.

Do we need to manually send the in_app_purchase event ourselves after a successful purchase when StoreKit 2 is in use?

Yes, to send the in_app_purchase event for purchases initiated by StoreKit 2, you will need to manually call Analytics.logTransaction(transaction).

Is the app_store_subscription_convert event still automatically collected even without the in_app_purchase event being present?

The Analytics SDK still falls back on the StoreKit 1 transaction observer API. Upon observing an incoming subscription renewal, it checks the IAP receipt for that subscription's previous transaction. If that previous transaction was a free trial, then the current transaction will be reported as app_store_subscription_convert.

In this case, does Firebase only log app_store_subscription_convert for those 6 users?

Your understanding is correct.

2 replies

ibrahimdevs May 5, 2026
Author

Hi @htcgh ,

Thank you so much for the clear and detailed explanation! It really helped clarify how StoreKit 2 and the fallback mechanisms work on iOS.

I have two quick follow-up questions regarding the Android side to make sure our cross-platform campaign tracking is fully aligned:

Automatic Tracking via Google Play: On Android, as long as our Firebase project is linked to our Google Play Console account, both in_app_purchase and subscription lifecycle events (like app_store_subscription_convert and app_store_subscription_renew) are tracked completely automatically at the backend level, correct? There is no need for any manual client-side code like logTransaction, right?
App Open Requirement for Conversion Event on Android: For the app_store_subscription_convert event on Android, does it also require the user to open the app after the trial converts to be counted? Or does the Firebase-Google Play server-to-server integration log it automatically in the background even if the user never opens the app again?

Thanks again for your awesome support!

TaylorDale May 6, 2026

@htcgh I have a few questions for you -
iOS: Storekit 1, full suite of events logged, app_store_subscription_convert, app_store_subscription_renew, in_app_purchase etc
Storekit 2: Requires a manual calling of Analytics.logTransaction. Does this call then internally detect what type of transaction is being received, and appropriately fire convert, renew, etc? Or are now just the only events in_app_purchase. I've tried to use debugView to see the events firing under both SK1 and SK2 but the reporting in DebugView appears to hide most (if not all) automatically reported events

The following question then being - do we need to change campaign structure for a tROAS campaign on a subscription (EG: on a weekly sub that would target trial activation val = 0, convert period 1 val = x, renew period 2 val = x) between SK1 and SK2. (With the value event being in_app_purchase). Thanks for reviving this it's really hard to find answers - even from our Google reps.

htcgh · 2026-05-08T22:02:56Z

htcgh
May 8, 2026
Collaborator

@ibrahimdevs Correct, on Android in_app_purchase, app_store_subscription_convert, and app_store_subscription_renew events are reported on Google Play's backend and there's no need for any manual client-side code to trigger them. The app_store_subscription_convert event will be reported server-side after the free trial converts even if the user never opens the app again.

@TaylorDale The Analytics.logTransaction() API does have internal logic to report app_store_subscription_convert and app_store_subscription_renew events as well, and so you shouldn't need to change the tROAS campaign on a subscription between SK1 and SK2. I agree that these subscription events are hard to debug; I'll relay this pain point to my broader team and see if we can make some improvements for debugging.

1 reply

TaylorDale May 9, 2026

Thankyou @htcgh ! Really appreciate the insights - I could be mistaken, but I don't think there are any public docs that state this, and as you observe, even if I want to find out myself it's really hard to do in DebugView.

Anecdotally - when I implemented logTransaction manually for SK2 I'm pretty sure I saw an in_app_purchase event fire for renew and convert. Which has left me really confused about the whole setup.

So if I wanted to correctly capture ROAS of a user in this scenario: Around 3 weeks of event tracking from install. User activates 3 day free trial, user converts to paid, user renews twice.

Is the expected event sequence for UA ROAS goals:

(trial start) in_app_purchase [value = 0]
(convert) in_app_purchase [value=X]
(renew) in_app_purchase [value=X]
(renew) in_app_purchase [value=X]

- or -

(trial start) in_app_purchase [value = 0]
(convert) app_store_subscription_convert [value=X]
(renew) app_store_subscription_renew [value=X]
(renew) app_store_subscription_renew [value=X]

Depending in which answer it is then - I should either be targeting only in_app_purchase event value, or - all 4 events as value optimizations, is this correct?

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Questions About Automatic Subscription Lifecycle Events in Firebase Analytics (StoreKit 2, in_app_purchase, app_store_subscription_convert) #15586

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Replies: 3 comments 3 replies

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{editor}}'s edit

{{editor}}'s edit

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{editor}}'s edit

{{editor}}'s edit

Uh oh!

Select a reply

Uh oh!

Questions About Automatic Subscription Lifecycle Events in Firebase Analytics (StoreKit 2, in_app_purchase, app_store_subscription_convert) #15586

Uh oh!

ibrahimdevs Dec 10, 2025

1. in_app_purchase event — not sent automatically on iOS with StoreKit 2?

2. Why is app_store_subscription_convert still being logged on iOS even though in_app_purchase is not?

3. How exactly does app_store_subscription_convert decide when to fire?

Thanks in advance!

Replies: 3 comments · 3 replies

Uh oh!

TaylorDale Apr 26, 2026

Uh oh!

htcgh May 1, 2026 Collaborator

Uh oh!

ibrahimdevs May 5, 2026 Author

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

TaylorDale May 6, 2026

Uh oh!

htcgh May 8, 2026 Collaborator

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

TaylorDale May 9, 2026

ibrahimdevs
Dec 10, 2025

1. `in_app_purchase` event — not sent automatically on iOS with StoreKit 2?

2. Why is `app_store_subscription_convert` still being logged on iOS even though `in_app_purchase` is not?

3. How exactly does `app_store_subscription_convert` decide when to fire?

Replies: 3 comments 3 replies

TaylorDale
Apr 26, 2026

htcgh
May 1, 2026
Collaborator

ibrahimdevs May 5, 2026
Author

htcgh
May 8, 2026
Collaborator