Most iOS subscription cancellations happen in the same place: Settings → Subscriptions → Cancel. The app isn't running. There's no screen to show, no dialog to present, no way to make an offer.
Apple's Retention Messaging API changes that. It lets developers place a message on the cancellation confirmation screen — a reminder, an alternate plan, or a promotional offer, shown in native App Store UI before a subscriber confirms their decision.
The API is server-to-server, and until now that meant building and hosting a dedicated backend endpoint. Superwall handles that part: a pre-generated callback URL in the dashboard, message management, and Apple review tracking. No server code. No SDK update.
How Apple's Retention Messaging API works
When an iOS subscriber opens Settings → Subscriptions, selects an app, and taps Cancel Subscription, Apple shows a confirmation screen. The Retention Messaging API lets developers place a message on that screen.
Four message types:
Text — A header and body, reminding the subscriber what they'll lose.
Text + image — The same, with a visual.
Alternate plan — Suggests a different tier with a Subscribe button directly on the screen.
Promotional offer — A discount or extended trial with a Redeem button.
The subscriber keeps full control. They can read the message and still cancel — nothing is blocked or hidden. Apple reviews every message before it goes live, and the screen labels it clearly as "From the developer."
This is the only native touchpoint during the cancellation flow in Apple's subscription settings. No in-app workaround reaches this screen.
Apple's iOS cancellation confirmation screen showing retention messages in the native App Store interface — text, alternate plan, and promotional offer examples
What this looks like in practice
Say a meditation app has a $12.99/month subscription. A subscriber — someone who's been using the app daily for three months — decides to cancel.
They open Settings, tap Subscriptions, find the app, hit Cancel. On the confirmation screen, instead of a blank page with a "Confirm Cancellation" button, they see:
From the developer: "You've completed 47 sessions and built a 3-month streak. Switch to our $5.99/month plan to keep your progress — or stay on your current plan for 50% off the next 2 months."
Below that: a Redeem button and a Keep Subscription button. The subscriber can still tap Cancel Subscription — but now they're making that choice with options they didn't know existed 10 seconds ago.
That's one scenario. A fitness app might suggest a quarterly plan instead of monthly. A language learning app might remind a subscriber they're 80% through a course. A news app might offer a weekend-only tier.
The message depends on the product and the strategy. The infrastructure to deliver it is the same.
What Superwall does
The Retention Messaging API is server-to-server. Apple sends a real-time request to a developer endpoint when a subscriber views the cancellation screen, and the server responds with the message to display. That means hosting infrastructure, latency management, and Apple's callback protocol.
Superwall provides:
A hosted callback URL — pre-generated in the dashboard, ready to use. No server to build or maintain.
Message management — create messages, track Apple's review status, manage locale variants.
Default message mappings — a fallback message per product and locale (Apple requires this as a baseline).
Real-time configurations — dynamically serve alternate plans or promo offers per product and locale.
No SDK update required. No app binary change. The integration is entirely server-side.
Getting access
This integration requires approval from Apple. Superwall provides the infrastructure, but Apple controls access to the Retention Messaging API itself — developers must apply directly and be approved before the API is active for their app.
Phase 1 — Apply to Apple:
Open Integrations → Retention Messaging in the Superwall dashboard.
Copy the callback URL.
Paste the URL into App Store Connect under subscription settings.
Phase 2 — Configure messages (after Apple approves):
Contact Superwall support to enable full configuration.
Create messages, submit for Apple review.
Map to products and locales. Add real-time configs if needed.
The callback URL is available in every Superwall dashboard today — the first step is applying to Apple. Full walkthrough in the docs.
FAQ
Do I need Apple's approval before retention messages can appear? Yes. The Retention Messaging API is access-controlled by Apple. Developers must apply directly to Apple and be approved before the API is active for their app. Superwall provides the callback URL and dashboard — but Apple grants the access.
Which iOS versions support retention messages on the cancellation screen? The retention message appears on devices running iOS 15.1+, iPadOS 15.1+, visionOS 1+, and macOS 14+. On older OS versions, subscribers see the standard cancellation confirmation without a message.
Does the server endpoint need to respond within a time limit? Apple requires a response within 700 milliseconds. If the endpoint times out, Apple falls back to the default message. Superwall's hosted endpoint handles this — there's no latency management on the developer's side.
Available now for all iOS apps on Superwall. No minimum SDK version. The callback URL is already in the dashboard — applying to Apple is the first step, and it takes a few minutes.
If Superwall is new to you and this sounds like something worth trying — create a free account. The callback URL generates automatically when your app is set up.