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Yesterday the status of my app became "Pending Developer Release". I look into promo codes and it says "They are for non-commercial use and will expire four weeks after they are requested."

1)What does it mean by "non-commercial use"?

2)Do I have to request all 100 codes at the same time or can I request a little at a time?

3)If I had ads on my app, since my app is NOT in app store and I'm using Promo Codes, will the user be shown real ads or test ads for iAd?

I read in Apple documents for Promo codes but it doesn't address the above questions.

Merc
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  • 3) If your app isn't in the store yet, no users can have your app so users won't see any ads. – rmaddy Sep 05 '15 at 17:16
  • rmaddy, I meant if they use promo codes, would they see iAd test ads or real ads. – Merc Sep 05 '15 at 17:21
  • Couple of answers have said what the promo codes are not for (selling). Just thought I'd add what they are for - they're intended for marketing purposes, game reviewers/bloggers will often expect to be offered a promo code instead of having to pay for it. – Columbo Sep 05 '15 at 18:37

2 Answers2

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  1. You can't sell them.
  2. No, you request the amount that you need each time.
  3. Real ads.

:-)

Just to add. Promo codes are used so that people don't have to pay the cost of the app to download it.

The promo codes only work when the app is "ready for sale" or "pending developer release". That means that you have submitted the final version of the app and Apple has approved it.

If your app is still in beta then TestFlight testing is the best way to distribute it.

Fogmeister
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  • Regarding your last point. Since my app is not in app store yet, I can't use promo codes for App reviewers to download my game? So in order to use a promo code, the app must currently be in app store? I thought the reviewers can download my game via promo code without app being in app store available for public as a way to market it. – Merc Sep 07 '15 at 17:16
  • @StackMan no. He only way for people to get hold of it before it's on the App Store is to invite them as a tester. For that they would need to give you the email address associated with their iTunes account and you need to set up the app for testing. That is for testing though. Not marketing. For marketing you would be better just waiting for the app to be on the App Store and sending out promo codes. – Fogmeister Sep 07 '15 at 17:25
  • you're incorrect about promo codes. I can can give them out to people do download my app even though my app is not currently in app store. – Merc Sep 09 '15 at 19:18
  • @StackMan I just had a look. The app either has to be "ready for sale" or "pending developer release". So I guess you're right. As long as Apple has approved the app for the App Store then you can get hold of it with a promo code. – Fogmeister Sep 09 '15 at 20:10
  • One important caveat about promo codes: The people who use them **cannot** post iTunes reviews so only use them for people who are reviewing outside of iTunes. – Dan Loughney Sep 09 '15 at 20:36
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  1. non-commercial use means you're not suppose to sell the codes as a way to profit from your app. You should use the pricing features from app store. Apple doesn't want you evading the 30% cut

  2. You can request 1 at a time

  3. Should show the real ads.

Kelvin Lau
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