Apple receipt - original_purchase_date has date before app creation

Question

I'm a bit confused with this. So following this approach I got json which contains bunch of decrypted fields. Among them original_purchase_date.

What I need is to track if application was purchased before this new version becomes free and I think I need to use this field for that. But for some reason on sandbox environment it shows date

"original_purchase_date" = "2013-08-01 07:00:00 Etc/GMT";

which is couple of years before application was made.

So right now I'm not sure

1. Why it shows that date.

2. Is original_purchase_date really the field I need to track.

Newmann

Answer 1

Original purchase date is always "2013-08-01 07:00:00 Etc/GMT" for sandbox environment.

You can use Original Purchase Date for your need but I suggest using original application version field. So, it's much easier then using date.

Gazette

Answer 2

1. Because you're in sandbox environment.
2. Yes, you should use original_purchase_date! Because original_application_version is totally wrong - it contains a BUILD NUMBER, not full version. I tested this in production.

Source: https://www.andr.mu/logs/migrating-an-ios-app-from-paid-to-freemium/

Closure