HOW WINBACK WORKS
Apple-safe win-back: no fake timers, no dark patterns
Winback wins back lapsed subscribers with one honest, personal note each. No countdowns, no fake urgency, no pressure. Offers stay inside limits you set, App Store users get Apple's own win-back offer link, every message is a draft you approve, and only people who agreed to hear from your app are messaged.
What Winback does, and what it never does
| Winback does | Winback never does |
|---|---|
| Writes one short note per person about what they actually did in your app | Add countdown timers or "offer ends soon" pressure |
| Attaches an offer only inside the maximum per group and the total budget you set | Give a discount you did not allow |
| Sends card failures a fix-your-card link with no discount by default | Treat someone whose card expired like someone who chose to leave |
| Uses the stores' own tools for in-app subscriptions, such as Apple's win-back offers | Ask people to pay outside the store where the store requires its own billing |
| Messages only people who agreed to hear from your app | Message people who did not opt in |
| Shows every message as a draft you can edit, sent from your own email tool | Send anything without you seeing it |
All from Winback's homepage and pricing, 22 October 2026.
Why it matters for App Store apps
A win-back message reaches someone who already left once. Pressure is the fastest way to lose them for good, and it is not the kind of thing you want associated with your developer account. A note that remembers their progress, with a fair offer or none at all, is both safer and more human.
- Cancelled: a note about their own progress, and an offer only if it fits inside your cap.
- Card failed: a one-tap fix link, not a discount.
- Trial ended, never paid: a reminder of what they set up, and a short extension if you allow it.
Read more on the store tools Winback leans on: Apple win-back offers, Apple Retention Messaging and messaging cancelled App Store subscribers without email. Comparing options? See the best subscription win-back tools.
Frequently asked
Is Winback allowed by Apple and Google?
Yes. For in-app subscriptions Winback uses the stores' own tools, such as Apple's win-back offers, and only messages people who agreed to hear from your app. It never asks people to pay outside the store where the store requires its own billing.
Can Winback give away discounts I do not want to give?
No. You set the maximum offer per group, a total budget cap and who can be messaged. Card failures get a fix-your-card message with no discount by default. Every message is a draft you can edit before anything sends.
Does Winback add countdown timers or urgency banners?
No. A Winback message is a short personal note about what that person did in your app, with an offer only if you allow one. There is no timer to add.
Who sends the messages?
You do, from your own email tool. Winback drafts one note per person with a unique return code, and you edit and send it.
How is Winback paid?
No monthly fee. 15% of the revenue from each subscriber who comes back after a Winback message, for their first 6 months back, and the first 10 apps pay 10%. If nobody comes back, you pay nothing.
Win them back the honest way
Plan a win-back free in your browser, or join the founding apps: 10% of what comes back for the first 10.