I 'm going to publish a not free APK in Google Play.
If the user device is root, the user can share the APK as "free" to other users
How can I manage this situation to control if the user has paid for the application?
Try implement google app licensing in your app.
Which will give you a result as user has not installed this application from google play store and above it you can handle your logic for not to go further in app.
Google App Licensing
Related
I'm thinking of releasing a "PRO" (ad-free) version for my android application and I'm worried that the apk would be shared on blogs/crack sites for free distribution
is there a way to add some kind a purchase check? Since the app will be available for purchase only, there should be a way to check the user's purchase history maybe?
If the user hasn't purchased the app and is using it the app would show a message that they haven't bought it properly and would shut down.
The thing that you are looking for is the App Licensing. Here is the link that can help you.
How can I implement Google Play Licensing for an Android app?
I am working of app support COSU app android. The app is working fine for me but I am not understand how user will update our app, because COSU app user can't access any other application even google play store. So now the question is that how user will update our application without google play access.
I have one solutin download app from our server, but in this case user will lose save data like the data we are storing in SharedPreference. Please guide me if you have any other solution for that. Thank in advence
According to Google's docs on COSU (Google Play app management), it is possible to "install, update, and uninstall apps using the Play EMM API". Under "Google-hosted private app management" it describes the ability to host private apps through Play that your users can install/update:
Simplifies the Google-hosted private app publishing and update
workflows available to all admins through managed Google Play, by
enabling admins to update Google-hosted private apps through the EMM console instead of through the Google Play console.
Enterprise admin can upload new versions of apps that are already published privately to the enterprise using the Google Play Developer Publishing API.
If you don't want to use Play for this functionality you can read the "Self-hosted private app management" section.
You can also look at "Managed Google Play" to publish private apps for your users: https://support.google.com/googleplay/work/topic/6145152
After you register for a Google Play Developer account and set up the correct administrator privileges to upload and publish the app to managed Google Play, you can use the Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) console to distribute the app to users.
Going the EMM route will let you update apps with the same functionality as regular Google Play apps where updates don't cause users to lose data. Unfortunately Google's documentation isn't detailed or centralized for this feature. Going through Google will also require that all of your devices are signed in to Google account in order to install apps or receive updates that you deploy though the EMM console.
Another option is to use a mobile device management (MDM) solution. If you have Samsung devices you can look into Samsung Knox which has a much simpler method for distributing your app: https://www.samsungknox.com/en/article/manage-apps
Another MDM option for single use apps is Mason (https://bymason.com/). Mason lets you upload your app, select any or all of your devices, and then deploy your APK to your users. When updating your app, all you have to do is increment your app version and the update functionality will be the same as a regular Google Play update. Your users also don't have to be signed in to a Google account.
If this sounds useful to you feel free to reach out to me trevor # bymason.com
DISCLAIMER: I work at Mason
I have this android icon pack I made and published on Amazon app store, but want to add it to Google playstore. The problem is that I can't sell apps on playstore but only give them for free because I can't have a merchant account in RSA.
Now my question to you is, is there a way I can implement something that you pay through PayPal after you downloaded the app and before you can use it?
If you want to put it in the play store no there is not because it is against the developer agreement for in-app purchases. you must use google's in-app purchases if you want to enable stuff after download or else risk getting the app pulled.
I have a paid app on Google Play, and I want to give a copy away for free for someone to try it out and review it. How would I do that? Can I simply take the signed APK and email it to them? Or should I make an unsigned APK? Or, is there a way to let them download it from Google Play without having to pay for it (like some kind of discount code or something)?
Unlike Apple, Google Play does not offer this service (unfortunately to all of us...).
You can send them the signed APK as long as you didn't use any licensing service checks that would cause this not to work. This will allow them to test the app, but not to review it.
The only way to review an app is to download it through Google Play...
What you can do, however, is have them buy the app, test it, review it and then you can use the Google Checkout console to refund their purchase later...
I wrote a small Android app. It is published on Google Play as two distinct versions
a free demo version with limited features
and the paid version without limitations
Now I have been approached by the distributor of a tablet who wants to pre-install my app on his device. Obviously, I want the owners of his product to benefit from later updates for my app.
Is there a way to pre-install the paid app on the device and still allow free updates to the app?
Thanks!
The pre-installed app has to be free. This comes verbatim from the Google Play Support site:
Unpublished Apps
Existing app users will still be able to receive app updates, even if
you unpublish your app. If you don't want new users to find and
download your app but still want to provide updates to your existing
users, set your app to Unpublished in the Developer Console.
Updating system apps
The user’s system apps (including any pre-loaded apps) are shown in
the My Apps section of the user's device in the Google Play store as
soon as an application with the same package name is uploaded to the
Google Play Developer Console, even if the application is unpublished.
Google Play can manage updates to preloaded applications, provided the
following conditions are met:
The preloaded app needs to be in the system partition
The preloaded app needs to be free
The preloaded app needs to be signed with the same signature as the app published in Google Play
The Package Name of the preloaded and updated app needs to be the same
The Version Code of the updated app needs to be greater than that of the preloaded app
This should happen automatically as long as you use the same signing key and package name.
You can test this and verify by doing the following:
Install the .apk file that you will be providing to the distributor
(lets call this 2.0).
Now upload 2.1 to Google Play (same signing key and package name)
When the user's automatic update checking runs, or when the user opens the package in Google Play, the update will be offered and work great.
The only case I have seen where this doesn't work is with cross-licensing. For example, if I license an App through the Amazon appstore, I will see updates in Google Play, but attempting to update will give me a "not paid" or "buy now" error.
In a common LVL implementation, if a user is not licensed, app should hang at start page and prompt user a dialog pointing them to purchase URL (can be opened via either Google Play client app or web browser).
For a paid app (LVL integrated and published via Google Play), if end user want to use it and keep receiving updates, he must use his Google account purchase it via either Google Play client app or Google Play web version.
The normal procedure to get paid app via Google Play client app is:
Purchase
Download
Install
Is there a way to pre-install the paid app on the device and still allow free updates to the app?
You can send them app-pro.apk file and let them install it without purchasing it first, however, when the app is first opened and in case that license check (requires Google Play client app installed on end user's device) is failed, the purchase dialog should popped up and ask them purchase it. Once the user has purchased it and open the app again and pass license check, he can start using it normally (with ability to update).
The answer is Yes, you can let user pre-install paid app, but in order to use it normally and keep receiving updates, the user must purchase it anyway.
I'm looking for solution for the same problem, and it appears to be impossible.
But I think I have a workaround:
Make your app free, with limited functionality, and offer advanced features ("pro" version) with in-app purchase.
For the in-app purchase version you can have a second licensing method. I'm not sure if it's allowed by Google Play terms, but technically this way you can support these two kind of users, and still have them update automatically through Google Play.