Name: rc-subscription-states
Author: revenuecat

Use this skill when gating access based on RevenueCat subscription state on Android. Covers reading CustomerInfo, checking entitlement.isActive as the single source of truth for access, and drilling into willRenew, periodType, and expirationDate when deeper logic is needed.

Subscription States Decide whether a user has access, and drive state aware UI, using CustomerInfo and EntitlementInfo on Android. Phase 1: Discover Confirm what you are actually checking before you write code. Which entitlement identifier gates the feature? (for example pro access ) Do you need a plain access boolean, or do you also need to explain why the user has or lacks access (billing issue, canceled but still paid, paused)? Do you need the cached value (fast, possibly stale) or a freshly fetched value (server authoritative)? Are you refreshing UI once on launch, or reacting to live changes (purchase, restore, background refresh)? If you only need access on/off, you only need isActive . Everything else is optional context. Phase 2: Plan Google's seven states versus RevenueCat's boolean Rolling your own tracker with the Google Play Developer API means mapping seven subscription states and deciding which grant access. Google state Grants access? ACTIVE yes IN GRACE PERIOD yes CANCELED (before expirationDate ) yes ON HOLD no PAUSED no EXPIRED no PENDING no RevenueCat computes this on the backend from the Google SubscriptionPurchaseV2 resource and exposes the result as one field: EntitlementInfo.isActive . You read a boolean instead of implementing the state machine. What to read, and when Need Field Does the user have access right now? entitlement.isActive Will the subscription renew at period end? entitlement.willRenew When does paid access end? entitlement.expirationDate Is this a trial, intro, prepaid, or normal period? entitlement.periodType Is there a payment problem? entitlement.billingIssueDetectedAt Has the user canceled but still has time left? entitlement.unsubscribeDetectedAt Which store issued the entitlement? entitlement.store Decision rules Gate features on isActive == true . Nothing else. Use billingIssueDetectedAt != null to show a fix payment prompt. Use unsubscribeDetectedAt != null with expirationDate to show a renewal reminder while access is still valid. Use !willRenew (when no billing issue and no explicit cancel timestamp) to show a non renewing notice. Phase 3: Execute Read CustomerInfo and check access awaitCustomerInfo() returns the disk cache immediately, then refreshes from the network in the background. Entitlement checks stay fast, even offline. Force a fresh fetch when you must Use this after a server side grant (for example, a support agent issued a promo). Drive state aware UI isActive gates access; the other fields explain context. Messaging guide by signal Signal on an active entitlement Message to show billingIssueDetectedAt != null Payment problem, update method unsubscribeDetectedAt != null Access ends on expirationDate willRenew == false (no other signal) Will not renew this period periodType == TRIAL or INTRO Trial or intro pricing in effect Identify the user for multi device awaitLogIn() merges anonymous purchases with the identified user. logOut() starts a fresh anonymous session. Phase 4: Verify Listen for CustomerInfo updates Register a listener so UI reacts to purchases, restores, and background refreshes without manual polling. The listener does not fire when the SDK starts with a cache hit and nothing changed. Always call awaitCustomerInfo() on launch in addition to setting the listener. Test matrix Walk through each case and confirm the UI responds correctly. Case Expected isActive Expected UI Fresh purchase true Premium content Grace period (billing issue, still granted) true Premium + billing warning Canceled, still before expirationDate true Premium + expiry notice On hold false Subscribe screen Paused false Subscribe screen Expired false Subscribe screen Pending (no payment yet) false Subscribe screen Sanity checks Access gate flips correctly when the listener fires after a purchase. FETCH CURRENT updates CustomerInfo after a backend grant (promo, refund, support action). After logOut() , CustomerInfo reflects an anonymous user and isActive resets accordingly. Offline launch still returns cached CustomerInfo and gates access without a network call. References [Full chapter](https://www.revenuecat.com/guides/revenuecat android sdk/subscription states)